STimes 15.03.2005 by David boey
IT IS haze-grey, travels on a cushion of air and is Singapore's
biggest
hovercraft yet.
This is a sneak peek at ACV-1, being prepared for its first sea
trials by
shipbuilder Singapore Technologies Marine (ST Marine).
The hovercraft - 'Air Cushion Vehicle 1' - is being fitted out at
ST
Marine's yard at Benoi Basin in Jurong.
When ready, it will travel at high speed on land or water on a
cushion of
air forced under its hull by powerful fans.
ST Marine spokesman Laura Chua declined to comment on ACV-1 or
its
capabilities.
A check with Jane's Fighting Ships, which lists almost all naval
hovercraft
the world over, and makers of civilian hovercraft showed no
hovercraft similar
to ACV-1.
This could mean the hovercraft is of local design or a new design
developed
with a foreign partner.
A Straits Times photograph of ACV-1, taken in late January when the
shipyard
was open to the media for the launch of another vessel, gives a
good indication
of its size.
It is about 45m long and has a drive-through cargo deck, which
vehicles can
enter from either the bow or the stern using a hydraulically
operated ramp.
Hovercraft can hit the beach regardless of tide and are not
affected by
underwater obstructions such as large rocks, which can damage
conventional
landing craft.
This gives hovercraft like ACV-1 the ability to land cargo on
virtually any
coast.
Such capabilities are likely to interest the Republic of Singapore
Navy,
especially after the tsunami relief operation in Meulaboh in
Sumatra when army
combat engineers had to toil for hours to remove debris before
beaches could be
used by its landing craft.
ST Marine's foray into the specialised field of hovercraft comes
after an
18-year break.
In 1987, when the company was known as Singapore Shipbuilding &
Engineering,
it unveiled the Tiger 40, a prototype 16m-long hovercraft with an
aluminium
hull, jointly developed with a British company, Air Vehicles
Ltd.
After a series of sea trials and a marketing drive that failed to
find a
launch customer, the project was dropped.
The prototype Tiger 40 was abandoned in a carpark at the Benoi
Basin yard.
end of quote
