Kongsberg contracted for Kuwait coast guard upgrade

Thirteen vessels will have the Kongsberg Kamewa waterjets installed to replace third-party systems on 10 vessels and retrofit three others – with 13 shipsets of S63 waterjets, control systems and power packs going in early next year.

The vessels are jointly operated by the Kuwait coast guard and Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB) and the upgrades will be carried out at ADSB’s facility.

Kamewa Waterjets can operate in just a few centimetres of water, which means vessels can operate and manoeuvre at speed in shallow waters that would clog other propulsion types or even ground vessels.

London’s Uber boats by Thames Clippers has a fleet of 20 ferries, nine of which are powered by the jets in London’s western reaches, where the depth under the keel is just half a metre and tidal changes can be dangerous, Kongsberg says.

For vessels operating along the coastlines of the Middle East and India, where large stretches of ocean have very shallow depths, this could be a key capability, Kongsberg believes.