ON THE WAYS CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY AT WORKBOAT YARDS
Austal USA delivers Navy’s latest unmanned surface vessel
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Austal USA
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ustal USA, Mobile, Ala., has completed construction of the 338'×93'6" expeditionary fast transport ship Apalachicola (EPF 13) for the Navy. The first EPF, formerly known as joint high-speed vessels, was delivered in 2012. The EPF’s large, open mission deck and large habitability spaces enable the ship to conduct a wide range of missions. With its ability to access austere and degraded ports with minimal external assistance, EPFs provide options to fleet and combatant commanders. With 13' drafts, the catamaran vessels have performed humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, maritime security, surveillance, command and control, counter narcotics, and additional operations around the world. Austal USA has been contracted to design, procure, implement, and demonstrate the Apalachicola as an autonomous platform, allowing the ship to operate autonomously while retaining the capability for manned operation, reducing cost and centralizing ship operations to the bridge. “EPF 13 is derived from Austal USA’s mature Spearhead-class EPF high-speed, flexible, multihull aluminum vessel design,” Austal USA President Rusty Murdaugh said. “Our team was able to leverage the platform’s core automation capabilities and develop a software and hardware solution to enable autonomous operations. Successful autonomous capability required modifications to Austal’s machinery control system and hull mechanical and electrical systems, integration of L3Harris’ mission and navigational autonomy systems, and General Dynamics Mission Systems’ autonomous cyber solution to create the Navy’s largest unmanned surface vessel.”
EPFs were formerly known as joint high-speed vessels, with the first ship delivered in 2012.
Main propulsion comes from four MTU 20V8000 diesel engines hooked up to four Wärtsilä steerable, reversing waterjets. The propulsion system gives the Apalachicola a speed of 33 knots with 380 metric tonnes of cargo, 21 knots with a mission payload of 231 metric tonnes of medical cargo, and 10 knots in sea state 5. The ship has a range of 1,200 nautical miles at 33 knots with a full load, 4,700 nautical miles at 21 knots with no cargo, and 2,000 nautical miles at 21 knots with a medical full cargo. The ship has a crew capacity of 36. EPF 13 carries an 11-meter RIB launch and recovery system and a hydraulic painter boom. — Ken Hocke
Snow completes 64’ boat for Savannah Pilots
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arlier this year, Seattle-based Snow & Co., delivered the Savannah, an aluminum 64'×19'6"×3.63' pilot boat, to the Savannah Pilots Association, Savannah, Ga. A second 64-footer for the Savannah Pilots will be delivered by the end of 2022. A third pilot boat for the San
Francisco Bar Pilots is also under construction, said Tim Kolb, vice president of business development at Snow & Co. “Pilot boats are part of a product line Snow & Co. will be going after in the future,” he said. The Savannah Pilots two flush-decked pilot boats were designed by Camarc Design, Dunoon, Scotland, and are built to the same basic design. (The pilot boat for San Francisco was also designed by Carmarc.) The two pilot boats feature a singlechine, deep-V hull “that’s really proven itself for seakeeping and maneuvering next to ships,” said Rich Galuk. chief engineer and captain with the Savannah Pilots. “You’ve got to be able to run in any weather.” A run for the pilots to meet incoming vessels starts from the pilots’ station, located at the head of the Savannah River about 25 miles from the port of Savannah, and goes out into the open ocean for about 15 miles. It’s a run the pilots make up to 3,500 times a year. The Savannah’s maximum speed is about 35 knots with a pair of 1,700-hp MTU 12V2000M86 diesels driving HamiltonJet HTX 52 waterjets through
www.workboat.com • NOVEMBER 2022 • WorkBoat
