Australian built ferries launched on Thames

High speed catamarans to transport Londoners more efficiently

London river boat service Thames Clippers has launched two more ferries in Central London.

The two high speed catamarans, named Galaxy and Neptune, were designed and built in Australia, by naval architects One2Three in Sydney and Incat in Tasmania, and transported 15,000 miles to London.

The £6.5 million boats are 33m long, 8.8m wide with a 1m draft and can carry up to 150 passengers at speeds of up to 30 knots (35mph). They have double-bottomed hulls as per High Speed Craft (HSC) Code specifications, with both the hull and superstructure vinyl coated to save weight.

Both Clippers are powered by Scania Dl16 072M marine diesel engines, rated at 625Kw at 2100 rpm, with Rolls-Royce Kamewa 40A3 1320kW waterjets for propulsion.

Sean Collins, chief executive of Thames Clippers said: “The vessels have got touchscreen MAP [Marine Automation Propulsion] running systems which simplifies a lot of the bridge instrumentation, and they're built to the high speed craft code, no mean feat for such small vessels. There's been a lot of developments with the water jet propulsion, which increases the efficiency. All in all, they save 15% of fuel per passenger compared to the existing vessels.

Galaxy and Neptune have also been designed to accommodate the unique tidal conditions of the River Thames and to cope with its low and high tidal conditions, allowing it to navigate its shallow reaches and pass under London’s low bridges.

Collins added: “They are a new generation of craft in terms of efficiency and safety and we're proud of the technical advances. The Thames is at the forefront of city river travel and places like Sydney are looking to replicate the design of these vessels.”

MBNA Thames Clipper has an existing fleet of 13 other ferries. Last year the service carried 3.8 million passengers and the company predicts this to grow to 4.3 million next year.