HSV-1 Joint Venture
Encyclopedia
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United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
, she was later transferred to the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
. This ship has served a deployment in Operation Enduring Freedom, spending time around the Horn of Africa
Horn of Africa
The Horn of Africa is a peninsula in East Africa that juts hundreds of kilometers into the Arabian Sea and lies along the southern side of the Gulf of Aden. It is the easternmost projection of the African continent...
. At the end of its service the ship was returned to its builders for further civilian use.
As Joint Venture
Built by IncatINCAT
INCAT is a part of Tata Technologies Limited, a company in the Tata Group and operates in the field of Automotive Industry providing Engineering and Design solutions. The company took over a much larger player in the field namely INCAT, a Europe based company, in 2005...
in Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
and launched in 1998 as Incat 050, she spent the summer of 1998/1999 running across Bass Strait, between Melbourne and Tasmania before being transferred to a New Zealand company, running between the North and South islands. In Bass Strait service she was known as "Devil Cat" although her name was officially Incat 050; in New Zealand service she was known as Top Cat", before being converted for military purpose. A flight deck was added to accommodate various helicopters in the US Navy arsenal.
Joint Venture was rapidly re-configurable and could perform a variety of missions, principal among them the ability to ferry up to 325 combat personnel and 400 tons of cargo up to 3000 miles (4,828 km) one way at speeds in excess of 40 knots (78.4 km/h).
In 2003 Joint Venture was assigned to Operation Enduring Freedom in the Horn of Africa
Horn of Africa
The Horn of Africa is a peninsula in East Africa that juts hundreds of kilometers into the Arabian Sea and lies along the southern side of the Gulf of Aden. It is the easternmost projection of the African continent...
. She operated as a fast transport in support of the Combined Joint Task Force and performing a variety of tasks, such as transporting and supplying troops at high speed over long distances, operating as a mobile command centre, working close inshore, and operating as a helicopter carrier.
Joint Venture was handed back to Incat in fall of 2006. She had undergone a refit including painting in the Express Ferries livery and was planned to enter service with them as a car and passenger ferry, but this never materialised.
Isle of Man
On 19 May 2008, she was purchased by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company and, after an extensive refit, went into service in May 2009 as Manannan.Related developments
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