HSC Express
HSC Express and her sister Incat 050 Manannan in Douglas Harbour for the 2015 Isle of Man TT
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| History | |
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| Name: |
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| Owner: | Nordic HSC |
| Operator: |
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| Port of registry: |
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| Route: | Nynäshamn, Sweden - Västervik, Sweden - Visby, Gotland (2016) |
| Ordered: | 1996 |
| Builder: | Incat, Hobart, Tasmania |
| Yard number: | 047 |
| Laid down: | 12 May 1997 |
| Launched: | 17 January 1998 |
| Completed: | 1 May 1998 |
| In service: | 1998 |
| Identification: |
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| Status: | In Service |
| Notes: | |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Det Norske Veritas 1A1 HSLC R1 Car Ferry A E0 |
| Tonnage: | 5,902 GT; 2,441 NT; 450 DWT |
| Length: | m91 m (299 ft) |
| Beam: | 26 m (85 ft) |
| Draught: | 3.7 m (12 ft) |
| Draft: | 3.73 (approx in salt water) |
| Decks: | 3 |
| Ramps: | 1 Stern ramp |
| Installed power: | 4 x Caterpillar Inc. model 3618 marine diesel engine through 4 x Renk ASL60 Gearboxes |
| Propulsion: | 4 x Lips LJ145D waterjet |
| Speed: | 42 knots (78 km/h; 48 mph) |
| Capacity: |
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| Crew: | 32 |
| Notes: | |
Express is a 91-metre (299 ft) wave piercing catamaran built by Incat, and operated by Nordic HSC between mainland Sweden and Gotland. During her delivery voyage on 9 June 1998, she set the record for the fastest Atlantic Eastbound Record, previously held by another Incat craft Hoverspeed Great Britain, making the 3,125 mi (5,029 km) run from Manhattan to Tarifa, Spain in 3 days 7 hours 54 minutes, traveling at an average speed of 38.877 knots (72.000 km/h; 44.739 mph).
During that same voyage, the ship became the first passenger ship to cover 1,000 mi (1,600 km) or more in one 24-hour period. In covering 1,018 nautical miles (1,885 km) in one day, beating the 868 mi (1,397 km). record set by SS United States in 1952. Six weeks later, sister craft HSC Fjord Cat took the record.
As of January 2016 P&O announced that they will scrap the Larne-Troon service provided by HSC Express, this has ended 25 years of a fastcraft Service between Northern Ireland and Scotland.
Following her record breaking Atlantic Ocean crossing the vessel changed name to Catalonia L and entered service with Buquebus between Barcelona and Palma, Majorca and later between Ceuta, Málaga and Algeciras.
In 2000 she was chartered to P&O Portsmouth for service between Portsmouth and Cherbourg replacing the smaller Superstar Express and adopted the trading name Portsmouth Express though her official name remained Catalonia. Her first season as Portsmouth Express was marred by a series of serious technical problems which at one point resulted in the Superstar Express returning to the route from P&O Irish Sea. The ship operated with P&O Portsmouth during the 2000, 2001 and 2002 summer seasons and returned to Buquebus for the rest of the year, in each summer season on the Cherbourg route the ship experienced a number of technical problems which often resulted in the ship running on three or less of its four engines. In 2002 the ships marketing name became Express after P&O Portsmouth became part of P&O Ferries. In 2004 the ship was officially renamed Express but her marketing name became Cherbourg Express to differentiate the service from Caen Express which P&O started that year. In September 2004 the ship completed her final Portsmouth-Cherbourg sailing and the ship was laid up at A&P Birkenhead.
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Wikipedia