Incat Crowther Launches Its Five-Hundredth Vessel 'Champion'

Incat Crowther has passed a significant milestone with the launch of their 500th vessel, Champion. Fittingly, the 27m catamaran passenger ferry was built by Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding and demonstrates the long-term, win/win collaborative relationships that are core to Incat Crowther’s culture.

Incat Crowther CEO Brett Crowther says: “To have successfully designed 500 large commercial vessels is no accident. Incat Crowther will continue to invest in our people and process to deliver innovative yet practical technical solutions to our operators and shipbuilding partners. It’s apt that our 500th vessel is a Gladding-Hearn build. We’ve built many vessels together and our philosophies align.”

Incat Crowther 500th Vessel Launched — Image Credits: incatcrowther.com

Peter Duclos, Director of Business Development at Gladding Hearn said: “Gladding Hearn’s philosophy is to build commercial vessels that make our customers successful. This vessel for the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority is a great example of the robust passenger transit vessels we are so well known for.”

Seating 110 passengers internally and having a total capacity of 150 passengers, Champion meets a range of performance and function criteria. As well as being fully ADA complaint, with a total of 4 wheelchair spaces and accessible bathroom, the vessel also features a concession area, luggage rack, bicycle storage for 10 and a ticket counter.

The design is optimized for bow loading, with double-width gates and doors. The bow design integrates with the existing shore based infrastructure and the wheelhouse is designed to meet strict visibility requirements, allowing the captain to clearly see the foredeck.

Champion’s superstructure is isolated by resilient mounts, to reduce noise and vibration in the cabin, allowing the vessel to exceed the contractual requirements.

Champion is powered by a pair of Caterpillar C32 Acert engines, driving Hamilton HM571 water jets, for a service speed of 26 knots and a top speed of 30 knots.

Champion is Incat Crowther’s 500th vessel to enter service and demonstrates the long-term win/win collaborative relationships core to Incat Crowther’s culture. 1 vessel in service, 1 under construction.