Last updated Broč (former Sunnhordland, bnr 38), a Westamaran Type W95, built in 1975, still operating in Croatia (photo taken on Mar 19, 2013)
The Westamaran is a pioneer type of passenger transport high-speed catamaran developed by Westermoen Hydrofoil in 1973. The craft was highly successful and introduced a new era of passenger transport along the Norwegian coast and elsewhere.
On the Bergen to Stavanger route, there was already a high-speed service by hydrofoil, introduced early in the 1960s. The initial Westamaran models were somewhat slower than the hydrofoils. Still, passenger comfort, both in terms of spaciousness, especially foul weather handling, was better in the Westamarans, so the public liked them.
The Westamaran had asymmetrical hulls, where the insides were essentially flat, forming a tunnel between the hulls that were rectangular in shape. The profiles were quite like a Storm class torpedo boat cut in two, and the construction of the Westamaran built heavily on the experience gained from the Storm class.
A hydrofoil is a lifting surface, or foil, that operates in water. They are similar in appearance and purpose to aerofoils used by aeroplanes. Boats that use hydrofoil technology are also simply termed hydrofoils. As a hydrofoil craft gains speed, the hydrofoils lift the boat's hull out of the water, decreasing drag and allowing greater speeds.
A hovercraft, also known as an air-cushion vehicle or ACV, is an amphibious craft capable of travelling over land, water, mud, ice, and various other surfaces.
A jet aircraft is an aircraft propelled by one or more jet engines.
The Airbus A340 is a long-range, wide-body passenger airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus. In the mid-1970s, Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner, and developed the A340 quadjet in parallel with the A330 twinjet. In June 1987, Airbus launched both designs with their first orders and the A340-300 took its maiden flight on 25 October 1991. It was certified along with the A340-200 on 22 December 1992 and both versions entered service in March 1993 with launch customers Lufthansa and Air France. The larger A340-500/600 were launched on 8 December 1997; the A340-600 flew for the first time on 23 April 2001 and entered service on 1 August 2002.
A catamaran is a watercraft with two parallel hulls of equal size. The distance between a catamaran's hulls imparts resistance to rolling and overturning. Catamarans typically have less hull volume, smaller displacement, and shallower draft (draught) than monohulls of comparable length. The two hulls combined also often have a smaller hydrodynamic resistance than comparable monohulls, requiring less propulsive power from either sails or motors. The catamaran's wider stance on the water can reduce both heeling and wave-induced motion, as compared with a monohull, and can give reduced wakes.
The InterCity 125 or High Speed Train (HST) is a diesel-powered high-speed passenger train built by British Rail Engineering Limited between 1975 and 1982. A total of 95 sets were produced, each comprising two Class 43 power cars, one at each end, and a rake of seven or eight Mark 3 coaches. The name is derived from its top operational speed of 125 mph (201 km/h). At times, the sets have been classified as British Rail Classes 253, 254 and 255.
Shun Tak–China Travel Ship Management Limited, doing business as TurboJET, is a ferry company based in Hong Kong. The company was established from the joint venture between Shun Tak Holdings and China Travel International Investment Hong Kong in July 1999. It operates hydrofoil and high-speed ferry services between Hong Kong, Macau, Shenzhen, and Zhuhai in the Pearl River Delta area.
The British Rail Class 222 Meridian is a diesel-electric multiple-unit high-speed passenger train capable of 125 mph (200 km/h). Twenty-seven sets were built by Bombardier Transportation in Bruges, Belgium.
The A-90 Orlyonok is a Soviet ekranoplan that was designed by Rostislav Evgenievich Alexeyev of the Central Hydrofoil Design Bureau.
Toralf Westermoen was a pioneer for the development of high speed craft in Norway. Westermoen was involved in the companies Båtservice Verft, Westermoen Båtbyggeri og Mek. Verksted , Westermoen Hydrofoil and Westamarin , all situated in Mandal.
A high-speed craft (HSC) is a high-speed water vessel for civilian use, also called a fastcraft or fast ferry. The first high-speed craft were often hydrofoils or hovercraft, but in the 1990s catamaran and monohull designs become more popular. Most high-speed craft serve as passenger ferries, but the largest catamarans and monohulls also carry cars, buses, large trucks and freight.
Manly ferry services operate on Sydney Harbour connecting the Sydney suburb of Manly with Circular Quay in the CBD, a journey of seven nautical miles.
The Type 025 torpedo boat, also known as the Huchuan or Hu Chwan class, was once the backbone of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) in its confrontations with its much larger opponents in the Republic of China Navy. Although no longer serving in that capacity, this class is still active. While relatively unsophisticated, the class has enjoyed a longevity in active service thanks to a philosophy within PLAN which has continued to favor its use. Powered by Soviet-era engines, the hydrofoil-equipped boats are capable of 50 knots and carry two torpedo tubes for torpedoes, with some known to be armed with naval mines.
Rail transport in France is marked by a clear predominance of passenger traffic, driven in particular by high-speed rail. The SNCF, the national state-owned railway company, operates most of the passenger and freight services on the national network managed by its subsidiary SNCF Réseau. France currently operates the second-largest European railway network, with a total of 29,901 kilometres of railway.
A ground-effect vehicle (GEV), also called a wing-in-ground-effect (WIG), ground-effect craft, wingship, flarecraft or ekranoplan, is a vehicle that is able to move over the surface by gaining support from the reactions of the air against the surface of the earth or water. Typically, it is designed to glide over a level surface by making use of ground effect, the aerodynamic interaction between the moving wing and the surface below. Some models can operate over any flat area such as frozen lakes or flat plains similar to a hovercraft.
MV Mariam is a Bolivian-flagged passenger ferry with a 228 gross tonnage (GT). Built in 1982 at Westermoen Hydrofoil shipyard, the ship is a catamaran 29.00 metres in length with a capacity of about 200 passengers. Built as Venture 84, the ship was in service with the French ferry operator Emeraude Lines from 1983 to 1996, serving a route between the Channel Islands and France. From 1996 to 2008, the ship was operated by Cypriot ferry operator Fergün Denizcilik as Fergün Express III.
Diesel multiple units and railcars are trains, usually with passenger accommodation, that do not require a locomotive. Railcars can be single cars, while in multiple units cars are marshalled together with a driving position either end. As of December 2010, 23 percent of the rail passenger cars used on Network Rail are part of a diesel multiple unit.
An electro-diesel multiple unit (EDMU) or bi-mode multiple unit (BMU) is a form of a multiple unit train that can be powered either by electric power picked up from the overhead lines or third rail or by using an onboard diesel engine, driving an electric generator, which produces alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC) electric power.
The Freshwater class is a class of ferry operating the Manly ferry service between Circular Quay and Manly on Sydney Harbour. The ferries are owned by the Government of New South Wales and operated by the franchisee Transdev Sydney Ferries under the government's Sydney Ferries brand.
Sydney Harbour ferry services date back to the first years of Sydney's European settlement. Slow and sporadic boats ran along the Parramatta River from Sydney to Parramatta and served the agricultural settlements in between. By the mid-1830s, speculative ventures established regular services. From the late-nineteenth century the North Shore developed rapidly. A rail connection to Milsons Point took alighting ferry passengers up the North Shore line to Hornsby, New South Wales via North Sydney. Without a bridge connection, increasingly large fleets of steamers serviced the cross harbour routes and in the early twentieth century, Sydney Ferries Limited was the largest ferry operator in the world.
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