High speed cats ordered for planned Florida-Cuba ferry service

Kona Catamaran, LLC, Fort Lauderdale, FL, has reportedly signed a deal with CubaKat, Inc. to build three high speed catamarans that will operate between Marathon, Florida and Havana, Cuba. The ferries will be designed to make the trip in less than three hours.

CubaKat is currently seeking licensing through United States and Cuban agencies for its ferry operations.

The catamarans will be designed by Boksa Marine Design, Inc of Tampa, Florida and Noah Thompson Design of New Zealand. They will be constructed by Kona Catamaran in Titusville, FL at Vectorworks Marine, LLC, a manufacturer of Fiber Reinforced Plastic (FRP) composite vessels, and will feature FPT diesel engines with HamiltonJet Drives installed by Motor Services Hugo Stamp, Inc., Fort Lauderdale, FL.

According to Boksma Marine Design, the 85 ft x 33 ft vessels will  carry up to 200 passengers and five crew members and will be designed to cruise at speeds above 30 knots.

January 4, 2012