In February 2008, Seacor Marine LLC, a subsidiary of SEACOR Holdings Inc, christened and launched the Seacor Cheetah, its first CrewZer class vessel.
The design for the new vessel, which will transfer personnel to ships and platforms, is a twin-hulled catamaran, capable of speeds of 40kt.
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The ABS DP-2-rated ship (classification ABS + A1 HSC Crewboat + AMS + DPS-2, USCG Sub Chapter ‘T’– Ocean Service) will be used in loop-style routes between high-traffic platforms and shore-based operations. The new vessel will join the SEACOR oil and gas operation in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Seacor Cheetah was designed by Incat Crowther of Newport, New South Wales, Australia and constructed at the Gulf Craft shipyard in Louisiana, US.
The ship is equipped with state-of-the-art electronics, communications and navigation systems and the nine-person FROG personnel transfer system developed by Reflex Marine.
TECHNICAL
The marine grade aluminium twin-hulled Seacor Cheetah is 50.29m long with a waterline length of 43.89 m, a 44.40m P-P length and beam of 11.58m. Its loaded draft measures 2.13m with a depth of 4.47m.
Fuel capacity is 52,314l with a fresh water capacity 14,000l. The vessel has a 2,700ft² deck and can be used as a cargo area for bulk tanks. It has a deadweight of 185t and is able to carry 150 passengers in a main cabin with seating, entertainment screens, toilets and a food kiosk.
The ship has a crew of ten with accommodations on the mid-deck (galley, mess, five cabins, laundry and toilets). Air conditioning is provided by four Lennox units. The ship can also transport 13,150 gal of cargo fuel.
PROPULSION
The vessel is powered by four MTU 16V4000 M71diesels rated at 3,305 hp (13,220 hp) driving four Hamilton HM811 water jets. There are two 200 hp retractable azimuthing bow thrusters incorporated forward in each of the hulls.
The reduction gears are Twin Disc/Nico MG61242SC with a ratio of 2.17:1. There are two 290kW generators driven by Cummins QSM11 drives.
The oil water separation is carried out by two Heli Sep Model 5000s. The ride control is by Maritime Dynamics.
NAVIGATION AND ELECTRONICS
There are three compasses for the ship (one magnetic and two gyro). The depth recorder is a Furuno GP1720 and the engine steering and gear controls are by Hamilton. The GPS system was from Garmin and the radar is a Furuno 2127 system which is ARPA enabled.
The autopilot is a Com Nav 2001 and there are two Icom M504 VHF radios. The hailer system is a Raytheon 430 and the vessel monitoring system was from CPS Electronics. The dynamic positioning system is a Simrad SDP21/KPOS/ABS Class 2.
There is also a cellular phone service provided by Petrocom. The vessel also has night vision capability and uses the safety enhanced personnel transfer system.
