Classic Fast Ferries

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CLASSIC FAST FERRIES
CLASSICFAST
CLASSIC
FERRIES
http://classicfastferries.go.to
Fast ferry photo-feature
magazine depicting the
history of hydrofoils,
hovercraft, catamarans
& other commercially
operated high-speed
ferries.
Editor & publisher
tim timoleon
e-mail: cff@email.dk
Issued 6-8 times per
year in pdf format.
Details on publishing
date for the upcoming
issue can be found on
our website.
All artwork and lay-out
designs by the editor,
except where noted.
Submittals of
manuscripts and
photos, old and new,
and relevant news
items are
encouraged.
IN s i d e:
Small Italians in Hamburg
Seaflight P.46 hydrofoils in
the Hanseatic city
The rise and fall of foils on
Río de la Plata - Hydrofoils
operated between Argentina
and Uruguay for nearly
35 years
On the move - News
c o v e r PHOTO:
Originally delivered to a Danish
customer in 1972, Løberen
was one of three Rodriquez
RHS 140s sold by European
operators to South America
between 1979 and 1984
(tim timoleon)
(c) 2001,
CLASSIC FAST FERRIES
2
CFF 3 – 2001
Italians
small
An interesting range of surface
piercing hydrofoils often overlooked
are those built by Seaflight of
Messina, Sicily. Now since long gone,
the company was founded in late
1961 with the yard itself, located at
Capo Peloro on the north-eastern tip
of the island, being completed a year
later. The company’s first hydrofoil
was launched in January 1964.
Designated C.44, only the prototype
was built.
However, it paved the way for the
construction of the marginally larger
P.46, the first of which appeared in
1965.
At 14 m it was a charming little
hydrofoil seating 30 passengers. A
total of seven P.46 craft were launched
before the yard moved on to building
the larger still model H.57 in 1966 (see
Red Funnel article in the February/March
Opposite, top :
Choppy conditions on
Hamburg harbor for Traf 1 (Seaflight)
2001 CFF), and eventually the L.90,
of which also only the prototype was
completed in 1973.
These pictures show two German
Seaflights. In the summer of 1965
Hamburg operator HADAG
Seetouristik introduced two P.46s,
Traf 1 and Traf 2, to join the
company’s fleet of conventional
vessels operating excursion trips in
the Hamburg area . The hydrofoils
worked half-hourly services between
central Hamburg and Schulau.
A third vessel, Traf 3, was also
launched at the yard but never
entered service with HADAG.
The two hydrofoils remained with
the Hamburg operator for six years
and were sold in Greece in June 1971.
Above :
Traf 2 at speed in Hamburg (HADAG; collection of H. Quast)
in Hamburg
Seaflight P.46
Opposite, bottom: Traf 1 at Landungsbrücken,
(HADAG; collection of H. Quast )
Above:
Hamburg
Length overall 14 m
Width across foils 5 m
Draft
hullborne 1.75 m
foilborne 0.75 m
Displacement fully loaded
12 t
Propulsion 2xCummins
370 hp diesels
Service speed 35–37 knots
Passengers 30
A third vessel, Traf 3, was launched at the yard but never entered service with HADAG (Seaflight)
CFF 3 – 2001
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CFF 3 – 2001
TIMOLEON
c . BERGER
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Opposite Top : PT.50 Flecha de Colonia was delivered by Rodriquez to
Alimar in 1963 (Rodriquez) Centre : The former Danish RHS 140 Farallon at
Buenos Aires in March 1996. Its days are numbered (Guillermo C. Berger)
Bottom : Same vessel as in the top picture. Flecha de Colonia being broken up at
Buenos Aires in March last year (Guillermo C. Berger)
RISEAND FALL
THE
OF FOILS
ast ferries on the River Plate began to
appear as early as in 1962. A company,
Alimar SA, had been formed the year before
by a group of mostly retired Argentine naval
officers who saw a bright future for fast sea
transportation between Argentina and
neighboring Uruguay. So much so that they
placed an order with Cantiere Navale
Leopoldo Rodriquez in Italy for three
hydrofoils of the PT.50 type. While at the
time the Messina-based yard had already
delivered eight PT.50s – as well as nearly
twenty of the smaller PT.20 type – to
customers around the world, still, ordering
not one but three craft was a bold move as
the design was still relatively unproven.
The first Alimar PT.50, Flecha de Buenos Aires,
arrived in its namesake city as deck cargo in
September 1962 and entered service shortly
thereafter. The next two craft, Flecha de Colonia
and Flecha del Litoral followed in 1963.
Up until then plying between the two
countries was a mixed fleet of vessels of varying
vintage, the youngest of which being of late
1930s build operated by Argentine state-owned
company Empresa Flota Fluvial del Estado
Argentino.
The 2 hrs 30 minutes used by these for the 31
nautical mile run between Buenos Aires and
Colonia, Uruguay was now cut to only 50
minutes by hydrofoil, ensuring Alimar
immediate success.
CFF 3 – 2001
5
Besides the speed, also of importance,
according to a contemporary journalist, was
the pleasant onboard surroundings; i.e. the
good looking hostesses and the lounge-like
muzak! Today of course a politically incorrect
remark, it probably only reflected the fact that
the service was initially aimed at businessmen
needing fast and frequent transportation
across the Plate to conduct their business in
either of the countries’ capital cities and be
able to return home on the same day.
With time the hydrofoils would attract also
commuters, mainly Uruguayans working in
Buenos Aires, and day or weekend trippers to
Punta del Este or Colonia or one of the many
resorts along the Uruguayan seabord.
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Serious competition on the route did not
appear until seventeen years later when, in
1979, an Uruguayan company, Belt SA, was
established to operate a used RHS 140
hydrofoil acquired in Norway.
Above :
Alimar's
third and final
Rodriquez PT.50
Flecha del Litoral
alongside at Colonia
displaying a very
becoming early days
paint scheme
(Guillermo C. Berger)
Right : Rodriquez
RHS 140 Tyrving
on trials off Messina
prior to delivery to its
original Norwegian
owners in 1972
(Rodriquez)
6
CFF 3 – 2001
The fourth of the type built by the Rodriquez
shipyard, this was originally delivered to Det
Stavangerske D/S and Sandnæs D/S in 1972.
While used, the craft, Tyrving, still was nine years
younger than Alimar’s two youngest PT.50s.
During most of its time with the Norwegian
owners Tyrving operated on the country’s major
marine highway linking Stavanger and Bergen,
initially alongside a pair of PT.50s of similar
vintage to the Alimar craft. The hydrofoils
would cover the Stavanger to Bergen route
(since 1974 known as the Flaggruten) in 3 hrs
50 minutes, including three calls en route, as
opposed to the more than ten hours used by
the over-night ferry.
In early 1974 Norway’s by then only other
remaining hydrofoil operator, Bergen-based
Hardanger Sunnhordlandske D/S, HSD, stepped
into the Stavanger–Bergen joint operation and
thus became part-owner of Tyrving. In mid-1979,
however, Sandnæs D/S withdrew from its
interests in Tyrving leaving Stavangerske and HSD
as owners of the craft.
Towards the end of its Scandinavian career
the hydrofoil’s schedule was less demanding
as domestically built catamarans took over
where the hydrofoils used to rule, including
the Flaggruten route, and it was relegated to
local routes in the Stavanger area.
Tyrving was eventually sold to Belt in
October 1979 and shipped to the southern
hemisphere the following month. It entered
service on the Colonia–Buenos Aires route
on December 1st , in direct competition with
Alimar.
The original name of the craft, naturally
totally unrelated to the local scene (it was a
powerful sword in the Nordic mythology),
was retained because the operator believed it
would be a bad omen to rename the
company's very first vessel!
A further RHS 140 was acquired in
December 1980 from Channel Islands
operator Condor. Originally delivered in 1971
as Condor 3 to work this company’s successful
seasonal Channel Islands–St. Malo, France
route, introduced in 1964, as well as interisland services, this was the first RHS 140
completed by the Messina yard.
The sale by Condor of the hydrofoil would
prove somewhat premature though.
A gas turbine waterjet powered Westamarin
W100T catamaran which was to replace
Condor 3 did not meet with the company’s
expectations and was returned to the
Norwegian builders, and a PT.50 – which,
ironically, had been built two years before the
RHS 140 – had to be leased from an Italian
operator for the 1981season.
Above :
The first RHS 140 completed by the Rodriquez yard, Condor 3, was delivered to Channel Islands
operator Condor in 1971 and sold to Belt nine years later (Rodriquez)
Below : Keeping its name but having had some alterations made to the superstructure, including the stretching of
the upper saloon and adding of new access doors midship, RHS 140 Tyrving is seen here at the
Alíscafos/Buquebus terminal in Buenos Aires in February 1996 (Guillermo C. Berger)
CFF 3 – 2001
7
Opposite :
PT.50 Flecha de Buenos Aires
still going strong and looking
good in the port of the Argentine capital
in 1995
(Guillermo C. Berger)
Left :
RHS 140 Løberen approaching
Copenhagen in full flight on a lovely summer's
day in 1984, the same year that the craft
was sold to Belt, showing the then latest paint job
of the Danish operator. . .
(tim timoleon)
Renamed Colonia del Sacramento the former
Condor craft entered service with Belt in early
1981.
At this point stiff competition between the
two operators had broken out. Not only had
Alimar already the advantage of having three
craft as opposed to Belt’s two, albeit older
and offering slightly fewer seats. Coinciding
with the arrival of the new Belt vessel the
company took delivery of a Boeing 929-115
Jetfoil which it introduced on a new direct
route between Buenos Aires and Montevideo,
the capital city of Uruguay (see separate article
elsewhere in this issue).
To match this Belt began hunting for a
third hydrofoil.
In 1984 a ten year old RHS 140 belonging
to Hongkong Macao Hydrofoil Co., Flying
Ibis, was inspected, but the purchase fell
through at the last moment due to the
prohibitive transportation costs for bringing
the vessel to the River Plate.
Instead Belt once again turned to
Scandinavia where a Danish RHS 140 was on
the market.
This had been delivered in 1972, the same
years as the Norwegian Tyrving, to
Dampskibsselskabet Øresund, DSØ, as
Løberen for the Copenhagen–Malmö, Sweden
route, which the company had been operating
jointly with its Swedish counterpart SRÖ
since 1965. Much as was the trend of the day
in Norway, Løberen had become surplus to
requirements as DSØ/SRÖ were turning
their backs on the hydrofoil in favor of the
catamaran in the second half of the 70s, and
the vessel had been put up for sale in early
1982.
Shortly prior to the acquisition by Belt, in
late 1984, of Løberen, the hydrofoil was
extensively refurbished and some
consideration was given to introduce it on a
new route across the Øresund, linking
Copenhagen and the Swedish town of
Landskrona. Apart from a few trial runs this
never materialized. By the time the hydrofoil
left the Øresund for the River Plate in January
1985 it had completed some 30,000 crossings
between Denmark and Sweden and carried
2.1 million passengers since its introduction in
May 1972.
Renamed Farallon, after a small island just off
Colonia, the hydrofoil entered service with Belt
on the Colonia–Buenos Aires route in February
1985.
Left :
. . . and shortly thereafter in the initial Belt
colors and renamed Farallon
8
CFF 3 – 2001
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A year later, realizing that competition was
pointless, Alimar and Belt decided to join
forces and began
trading as Alíscafos Puente Fluvial under the
management of Belt SA.
Some months after, in the evening of
November 2nd 1986, about halfway on a
crossing from Colonia to Buenos Aires
carrying an almost full load, fire broke out in
the engine room on PT.50 Flecha del Litoral .
Although the extinguishing system was
immediately released the fire proved
uncontrollable and the burning vessel
eventually went down, taking twelve
passengers and one crew with it. A spate of
negative publicity followed, and the company
never completely recovered from the disaster.
Almost exactly a year later, on November
8th 1987, the former Condor craft Colonia del
Sacramento was damaged beyond repair as,
during a very stormy night, it hit the mooring
pontoon and quay at Colonia. With the hull
punctured, the vessel slowly started to sink
and while the hydrofoil was raised and towed
back to Buenos Aires it was not considered
worth rebuilding.
Below:
Yes, they are both PT.50s and even sisters.
The bridge and upper saloon, also called the Belvedere
lounge, on Flecha de Colonia were totally rebuilt
in the 90s and flat side sponsons built on the rounded
deck, making the vessel look like a crossover between
an RHS 140 and RHS 160. Sister Flecha de
Buenos Aires remained unchanged
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The future for the otherwise successful
Alimar/Belt merger was seriously threatened
when in August 1992 a new Uruguayan
operator, Buquebus, entered the scene and
introduced an Incat Tasmania 74 m
passenger/vehicle wavepiercing catamaran,
Patricia Olivia, between Montevideo and
Buenos Aires.
At a stroke the Alíscafos fleet had become
outdated, although two of the craft did indeed
get a complete makeover. Both PT.50 Flecha
de Colonia and RHS 140 Tyrving had their
upper saloons stretched and new access doors
added midship. The rebuilding was taken
even further on the PT.50 which had flat side
sponsons built on the rounded deck, so
(Guillermo C. Berger)
CFF 3 – 2001
9
characteristic for the design, giving it the
appearance of a crossover between an RHS
140 and RHS 160.
As Buquebus continued introducing more
large car carrying fast ferries the hydrofoil
operator saw its passenger numbers decline
and became a ripe target for takeover, which
was finally accomplished in September 1994.
In early 1995 the remaining two PT.50s
originally delivered to Alimar, Flecha de Buenos
Aires and Flecha de Colonia were withdrawn,
destined for the scrappers. However, both
were given a brief reprieve not long thereafter
as they were employed on a new service
linking Buenos Aires and Campana up the
Paraná River.
At the time the highway system in the
northern parts of Buenos Aires was being
reconstructed resulting in almost permanent
Above :
Pulled out of
service in 1996, the
remaining pair of
RHS 140s acquired
by Belt from operators
in Denmark and
Norway, Farallon
(left) and Tyrving, are
deteriorating at Buenos
Aires in November
1998
Right : Some twelve
months later, in
December 1999,
Tyrving is found in
this humiliating state.
The heavily rebuilt
PT.50 Flecha de
Colonia at left
(Guillermo C. Berger,
both)
10
CFF 3 – 2001
traffic jams, and the service was believed to
induce commuters to leave their cars behind
and take the hydrofoil which ran into central
Buenos Aires, only a short walk away from
downtown and the financial district .
But the accomodation on the aging PT.50s
with their rather cramped lower saloons was
no longer attractive, and also the craft would
suffer from frequent breakdowns giving the
service a reputation of bad reliability and the
route closed down only months later, in
December 1995.
Both hydrofoils were eventually sold for scrap
at the end of 1999, the work of which has now
been carried out.
The pair of former Belt RHS 140s, Tyrving
and Farallon , remained in service for most of
1996. As replacement for these Buquebus
acquired two used Marinteknik Verkstads 33m
catamarans, from the same operator in Denmark
as Farallon, which were put into service in July
and November 1996. They meant the definitive
goodbye to hydrofoils on the River Plate.
A proposal to preserve one of the hydrofoils
for display at the future Museum of the Sea and
Navigation did not prosper.
After having been stripped for all usable
equipment, at the end of 1999 the two RHS
140s were sold for scrap as well. While not
much but mutilated empty shells of their
former selves they still have not been
completely erased from the face of the earth
though, but are slowly but steadily
deteriorating at Buenos Aires. n
Three of the former River Plate hydrofoils in various stages of scrapping at Buenos
Aires: RHS 140 Farallon (left) in June 1999; PT.50 Flecha de Buenos Aires
(centre) in March last year and, well, at least the remains of, PT.50 Flecha de
Colonia (below) in April 2000 (Guillermo C. Berger, all)
T H E
Alimar also operated a Boeing Marine Systems
Jetfoil 929-115, Montevideo Jet, for a short while
in 1980-81.
The first order for a Jetfoil from Latin America,
the craft was launched at the BMS Renton,
th
Seattle plant on August 15 1980 and shipped in
early October. It entered service between the
capital cities of Buenos Aires and Montevideo in
December. A distance of 130 nautical miles, the
journey was completed in just under three hours;
almost three times faster than by conventional
ferry. While the Jetfoil was very well received and
behaved remarkably well, the service only lasted
for ten months due to the high maintenance and
operating costs involved in operating a single craft
of this type.
Following the spell with Alimar Montevideo Jet
returned to Boeing and became one of the
company’s demonstration vessels for the next few
years. As such, and renamed Aries, it was being
operated on a series of trial services on different
routes in Alaska, partly in cooperation with the
Alaska Marine Highway System. First for a month
mid-August to mid-September 1982, then for three
weeks in January 1983 to evaluate the craft under
cold winter conditions and finally between midJune and early September 1984.
The following month BMS announced that the
craft had been sold to a Canadian company,
Island Jetfoil Corporation, for an international
route between Canada and the U.S.
Completely refurbished and once again renamed
Spirit Of Friendship the vessel was re-launched at
th
the Renton yard on January 7 1985 and entered
st
service on March 1 on two routes in the Puget
Sound linking Vancouver, B.C. and Victoria on
Vancouver Island and Victoria and Seattle, WA.
This service lasted for only about five months.
The craft was subsequently purchased back by
BMS at auction in September 1986.
In January 1987 it was acquired by Kansai Kisen
and Kato Kisen, Japan, trading as Jet-Line, and,
now named Jet 7 , entered service across the Seto
Inland Sea.
The former Argentine
craft was renamed Aries
upon return to BMS and
was test operated by them
in Alaska in cooperation
with the Alaska Marine
Highway System
(BMS/AMHS)
CFF 3 – 2001
11
o n
A Star
is born
Due to arrive at the AG Ems
base in the German Northsea
port of Emden later this month is
the company's new 45m
catamaran, Polarstern. Although
'new' is a qualified truth as the
vessel was launched already in
1997 at the Oceanfast Ferries
facility at Henderson, Western
Australia. However, the initial
contract for the catamaran failed
and it has seen no regular
service and have been laid up
for most of the time.
Built as an air lubricated
technology (ALT) catamaran
the performance of the design
was disappointing and the
vessel was subsequently
rebuilt as a conventional
catamaran.
Originally fitted out for 440
passengers this has been
reduced to 405 as Ems opted for
a mixed interior lay-out with seat
rows as well as group seating
around tables in a cafeteria
area.
Ems already has a Fjellstrand
38.8m catamaran, Nordlicht,
delivered in 1989 and also
operates conventional vessels
between Emden and the offlying Frisian Islands.
t h e
mm oo vv ee
Above + Below, left:
AG Ems' new Oceanfast 45m
catamaran, Polarstern, was launched already in 1997 but has
yet to enter revenue service (AG Ems)
Scandlines sells two more
catamarans
Following the sale in January of KF Flying Cat
40m catamarans Kraka Viking and Sifka Viking
to a Mexican operator (CFF February/March), as
this issue was going to press Scandlines
confirmed that it had sold off two more craft.
The catamarans, Fjellstrand 38.8m Springaren
and Ørnen, have been purchased by SNAV, the
Italian operator established by the Rodriquez
shipyard in 1956. Renamed Acquarius and
Auriga the catamarans will enter service in the
Bay of Naples and Sicily.
Kometas Anonymous
Also already in Emden since some time is a mystery Kometa
hydrofoil.
Since initially two craft were lying here and no name (or
operator/owner) is to be seen on the present vessel its exact
identity is uncertain. It is either the former Alpha or Omega, both
of which built by the then Soviet yard of Ordzhonikidze in 1979
and 1980 respectively and previously operated between
Lithuania and Gdansk, Poland. The hydrofoils arrived in
Germany in 1998 to operate two services linking Bremerhaven
and Büsum and the island of Helgoland, none of which
eventuated.
Any further details of the craft, including whether it is on the
market, are welcome.
The anonymous Kometa in Emden last month (Christian Eckardt)
12
CFF 3 – 2001
Springaren was delivered to the joint
Danish/Swedish Flyvebådene/ Flygbåtarna
service in 1991. Ørnen was originally
delivered to a Russian operator as Solovki the
year before and acquired by Flyvebådene in
1996. Both vessels have primarily been
employed on the operator's Copenhagen–
Malmö route. However, Ørnen has also been
operated in the Baltic between Germany and
Poland in cooperation with Adler-Schiffe for
each summer since 1997.
With the recent sales the Scandlines
Flyvebådene fleet now comprises four Kværner
Fjellstrand catamarans; 38.8m Løberen and
Svalan and Flying Cat 40m Sjöbjörnen and
Sælen. In addition it also owns the former Pilen
catamarans Delfinen and Pilen 3, both of which
are laid up.