Irish Ferries buy £20m US military vessel

Jun 4 2008 by Barry Turnbull, Liverpool Daily Post

FERRY bosses plan a dramatic increase in traffic from Liverpool, after buying a £20m military catamaran.

The 96-metre wave-piercing vessel will be the largest fast craft in the Irish Sea when it debuts in the 2009 summer season.

Incat O50 will be rebranded and renamed, as well as being fitted out as a passenger boat. It has been used by the US navy since 2001.

Isle of Man Steam Packet Company chief executive, Mark Woodward said: “The purchase is a real step forward for the company and repre- sents a significant investment, with a total project cost approaching £20m.

“Over the past few years, we have looked at a number of possible vessels and we believe we have found the craft that best meets our requirements for a versatile, high capacity vessel which is capable of serving our passengers’ expectations for increased comfort and reliability.

“The new ship will increase our capacity substantially. As well as comfortably ex- ceeding the comp- any’s investment obligations under the User Agreement with the Isle of Man Government, it also reinforces our commitment to provide the highest quality service to the Manx community.”

The vessel can carry 800 people at a top speed of 35 knots.

Incat 050 was built in Tasmania in 1998, and, after a short period of commercial service in Australia and New Zealand, was chartered to the US military for evaluation purposes in 2001.