Advanced technology demonstrator for the United States Office of Naval Research (ONR) “AMH SeaCoaster”, the 31.2 metre long surface-effect catamaran, was christened at a ceremony at Austal’s Mobile (Alabama) shipyard earlier this month. The patented SeaCoaster catamaran will be used to demonstrate advanced hullform technology. Its design features cavities in the bottom of each hull into which air is blown providing lift to the vessel, reducing resistance, and thus allowing higher speeds to be obtained. The ship is being built for American Marine Holdings, which has been awarded a contract to demonstrate its licensed technology SeaCoaster design to ONR.

The vessel, which has a beam of 9.75 m and moulded depth of 3.35 m, is fitted with four 1045 kW Caterpillar diesels and four ZF surface-piercing propellers. It is expected that the vessel will achieve speeds of up to 56 knots. Following its successful evaluation by ONR, American Marine Holdings expects various departments of the US military to decide on potential applications for the air-inducted technology and possibly order additional vessels for specific uses.

ONR functions are to coordinate, execute and promote the science and technology programs of the Navy and Marine Corps as well as providing technical advice to the Chief of Naval Operations and the Secretary of the Navy.