Cheetah catamarans for Dutch and UK customers
Now in its 20th year for construction of specialist power catamarans, Cheetah Marine of Ventnor on the UK’s Isle of Wight reports the commissioning of two new hydrographic survey vessels by Heuvelman Ibis in Delfzijl, Holland, and British Geological Survey (BGS) in Edinburgh.
With a cruising speed of 18 to19 knots, the 6.2m Dutch vessel Cetus has been fitted with a long survey style wheelhouse for operation of a Geoswath multibeam sounder and associated equipment. Heuvelman plans to use it mainly in support of dredging, piling, bridge and lock building, dike rehabilitation and other projects across Holland and Germany. According to Arco Heuvelman, the company’s technical manager, the lightweight vessel has already impressed with its stability and seakeeping capability.
Meanwhile, BGS’s requirement for improved nearshore seabed surveys using a road towable vessel which can be readily launched and recovered from a variety of coastal and inland sites is being met by the 7.9m Cheetah catamaran White Ribbon. Used mainly to monitor and support studies of sea level rises, it is equipped with twin Kongsberg EM 3002 multibeam sounders pointing fore and aft on a stainless steel rotating disc system. The dual head assembly operates at a maximum of 200 degrees, enabling high resolution surveying of water surfaces along shorelines and estuaries as well as vertical man made structures.
