HMAS Jervis Bay (AKR 45)

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For other ships of this name, see HMAS Jervis Bay.

Career (Australia)
HMAS Jervis Bay
Builder:	Incat in Tasmania
Launched:	November 1997
Commissioned:	10 June 1999
Decommissioned:	11 May 2001
Renamed:	Incat 045 (construction) Tascat (TT-Line) HMAS Jervis Bay (AKR 45) (RAN) Winner (TRIS) HSC SpeedOne (SpeedFerries)
Struck:	11 May 2001
Motto:	"Strive Valiantly"
Nickname:	Dili Express
Fate:	Currently operating as HSC SpeedOne
Badge:
General characteristics
Displacement:	1,250 tons
Length:	86.62 m
Beam:	26 m
Draught:	3.6 m
Propulsion:	4 x Caterpillar 3618 diesels, 7,200 kW; 4 x KaMeWa 112 S11 waterjets
Speed:	48 knots
Complement:	25
Armament:	2 x 7.6 mm guns

HMAS Jervis Bay (AKR 45) was a wave piercing catamaran built by Incat in Tasmania. During her career, the ship, built as Incat 045 has served numerous companies as a civilian ferry, but the most prominent role of her career was during her leasing to the Australian Government from 1999 to 2001, where she was commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy as a fast troop transport. Although a purely civilian design, Jervis Bay had the distinction of being the first large catamaran in the world to enter naval service.

1 Construction
2 Operational history
3 Related ships
- 3.1 US Navy
- 3.2 Current sister ships
4 External links

[edit] Construction

The ship was laid down as Incat 045 in 1997, at Incat's shipyards in Hobart, Tasmania. She was launched in November 1997. The catamaran had not been ordered by any company.

[edit] Operational history

[edit] Australian civilian

The ship's first period of service was on charter to TT-Line, for service between Melbourne, Victoria and Devonport, Tasmania. Names Tascat, the ship ran in conjunction with the first Spirit of Tasmania until the newSpirit of Tasmania I and II entered service, at which point she was laid up.

[edit] RAN

In May 1999, the ship was leased to the Australian Government for logistics and transport operations, following delays in the refitting of the two Kanimbla class vessels. She was commissioned as HMAS Jervis Bay on 10 June 1999.

Jervis Bay was commissioned primarily to serve as a fast sea link for Australian troops between Darwin and Dili in East Timor, during operation of the Australian-led INTERFET peacekeeping taskforce. The ship was capable of sailing the 430 nautical miles (800 km) in approximately 11 hours, at an average speed of approximately 45 knots, far faster than vessels of comparable size and role of the US Navy in the region. During the two years of the ship's charter by the RAN, Jervis Bay made 107 trips between Darwin and East Timor, shipping 20,000 passengers, 430 vehicles and 5,600 tonnes of freight, becoming known as the "Dili Express".

Jervis Bay was decommissioned on 11 May 2001, and returned to Incat.

[edit] European service

SpeedOne in Dover

The ship was laid up until 2002, when she was chartered to Italian ferry company TRIS. Renamed Winner, she operated between Genua and Palau, Sardinia until the company's collapse later that year.

The ship was laid up in Dover, England until 2004, when she was purchased by UK cross-channel operator SpeedFerries. Renamed HSC SpeedOne, the ship currently operates between Dover, England and Boulogne-sur-Mer, France. SpeedOne can carry 200 cars and 670 passengers.