QinetiQ, Vosper Thornycroft to market trimaran ship designs world-wide

QinetiQ and Vosper Thornycroft have signed an agreement to jointly market tri-maran technologies/designs world-wide, with the exception of the UK defence market.

QinetiQ's design capabilities are the creative force behind RV Triton, the unique triple hulled warship demonstrator that is the largest powered trimaran vessel ever built. Vosper Thornycroft provided the shipbuilding skill and detailed design to make QinetiQ's Triton research a reality. This partnership will exploit the vast commercial potential for powered trimaran ship designs.

Bob Short, QinetiQ's RV Triton Programme Manager, said: "Triton has already gone a long way to validating our earlier research and has demonstrated the considerable benefits associated with triple-hulled vessels. We are confident that trimarans have a huge potential commercial application world-wide. I'm delighted to be working with a major shipbuilding industry partner to market these exciting ship designs".

Andrew Bunney, Vosper Thornycroft Shipbuilding Managing Director, said: "The partnership agreement between QinetiQ and VT strengthens the UK's position as a world leader in trimaran technology. By working together we can fully apply the unrivalled expertise gained from the Triton project."

The trimaran design offers several major advantages resulting in ships that are faster and more manoeuvrable that an equivalent sized mono-hulled craft.

In addition, RV Triton has proved that the triple-hull design offers a reduction in drag of 20% when compared to a conventional mono-hull equivalent vessel. These benefits translate into major production and through-life cost savings, mostly attributable to a reduction in the engine power required to achieve speeds currently attainable in an equivalent mono-hulled ship.

Triton's triple-hull also offers considerable benefits in terms of stability and a vast increase in the available deck area. All of these factors combine to make the powered trimaran design extremely suitable for a whole range of vessels. Possible civil applications include Roll-on Roll-off (RORO) ferries, fast ferries and even leisure craft. The triple-hulled design is also suited to shallow water requirements (e.g. inland waterway freight vessels).

REF XQQEE XQQSA