Post by Captain Welden on Jan 23, 2009 18:13:15 GMT -5
IOMSPC purchase Incat 029 fastcraft from Incat
Today it was announced that the fastcraft Incat 029 has been purchased by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company from Incat for a sum of £5 million. The craft had been laid up in Hobart for the majority of the last 18 months, and according to Steam Packet Company CEO Paul Logan, she is a 'fine purchase' and will 'allow the company to experiment and act as fine back-up to the rest of the fleet'.
The Incat veteran has seen service in Europe and the Mediterranean in her previous 16 years service, as SeaCat England and Mallorca Express. She was originally ordered by Sea Containers however the company rejected the vessel after deciding that five SeaCats would be an "uneconomical operation", and was sold to Incat.
On her trials off Hobart conducted by the Steam Packet Company, it was reported that the Incat 029 had reached a speed of 40 knots "quite easily", and completed a 180 degree turn at speed with no problems at all.
Steam Packet Company representatives including Paul Logan, Engineer Barry Lightoller and Captain James Welden viewed the craft last month. An 18-man Steam Packet Crew led by Captain Welden (as well as his wife and two children) will fly out to Hobart in February to bring the craft to Birkenhead for a £1.7m refit at Cammell Laird. The crew consists of 6 officers, 3 passengers, a chef, 4 engineers and 4 security guards.
It is expected that Incat 029 will set sail on her staggering 12,823 mile voyage on Friday 14th February and take around four weeks to get to Birkenhead, with refuel and rest stops at Colombo (Sri Lanka), Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), Valletta (Malta), Gibraltar (Spain) and Bilbao (Spain) along the way home. The Steam Packet Company have placed a map on their website to track the craft's passage home and Manx Radio will be talking to the crew on their epic voyage.
Today it was announced that the fastcraft Incat 029 has been purchased by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company from Incat for a sum of £5 million. The craft had been laid up in Hobart for the majority of the last 18 months, and according to Steam Packet Company CEO Paul Logan, she is a 'fine purchase' and will 'allow the company to experiment and act as fine back-up to the rest of the fleet'.
The Incat veteran has seen service in Europe and the Mediterranean in her previous 16 years service, as SeaCat England and Mallorca Express. She was originally ordered by Sea Containers however the company rejected the vessel after deciding that five SeaCats would be an "uneconomical operation", and was sold to Incat.
On her trials off Hobart conducted by the Steam Packet Company, it was reported that the Incat 029 had reached a speed of 40 knots "quite easily", and completed a 180 degree turn at speed with no problems at all.
Steam Packet Company representatives including Paul Logan, Engineer Barry Lightoller and Captain James Welden viewed the craft last month. An 18-man Steam Packet Crew led by Captain Welden (as well as his wife and two children) will fly out to Hobart in February to bring the craft to Birkenhead for a £1.7m refit at Cammell Laird. The crew consists of 6 officers, 3 passengers, a chef, 4 engineers and 4 security guards.
It is expected that Incat 029 will set sail on her staggering 12,823 mile voyage on Friday 14th February and take around four weeks to get to Birkenhead, with refuel and rest stops at Colombo (Sri Lanka), Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), Valletta (Malta), Gibraltar (Spain) and Bilbao (Spain) along the way home. The Steam Packet Company have placed a map on their website to track the craft's passage home and Manx Radio will be talking to the crew on their epic voyage.
