SSTH Ocean Arrow
Encyclopedia
SSTH Ocean Arrow is an Super Slender Twin Hull (SSTH) car ferry
operating in Japan
.
Prof. Hideaki MIYATA at Tokyo University developed the Super Slender Twin Hull, a high speed catamaran
hulled boat, as a joint work with IHI Corporation.
It entered service in 1998 between Kumamoto
and Shimabara
. The trip takes about 30 minutes, or about half the time that it had previously taken.
Despite their prevalence in Europe
, previous attempts to bring a fast ferry to Japan had failed due to wake wash and wave damage
in the Japanese coastal areas. In Ireland
, in fact, a swimmer was drowned in one instance which was thought to be caused by wake wash from a fast-moving ferry.
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
operating in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
Prof. Hideaki MIYATA at Tokyo University developed the Super Slender Twin Hull, a high speed catamaran
Catamaran
A catamaran is a type of multihulled boat or ship consisting of two hulls, or vakas, joined by some structure, the most basic being a frame, formed of akas...
hulled boat, as a joint work with IHI Corporation.
It entered service in 1998 between Kumamoto
Kumamoto, Kumamoto
is the capital city of Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. Greater Kumamoto has a population of 1,460,000, as of the 2000 census...
and Shimabara
Shimabara, Nagasaki
is a city located on the north-eastern tip of the Shimabara Peninsula, facing Ariake Bay in the east and Mount Unzen in the west, in Nagasaki Prefecture, Kyūshū, Japan.-History:...
. The trip takes about 30 minutes, or about half the time that it had previously taken.
Despite their prevalence in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, previous attempts to bring a fast ferry to Japan had failed due to wake wash and wave damage
Coastal erosion
Coastal erosion is the wearing away of land and the removal of beach or dune sediments by wave action, tidal currents, wave currents, or drainage...
in the Japanese coastal areas. In Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, in fact, a swimmer was drowned in one instance which was thought to be caused by wake wash from a fast-moving ferry.
Specifications
- Length (o.a.) 72.09 m
- Gross tonnage 1,687 T (JG)
- Service speed 35.0 knots (40 mi/h, 65 km/hHourThe hour is a unit of measurement of time. In modern usage, an hour comprises 60 minutes, or 3,600 seconds...
- Maximum speed 40 knots (74 km/h)
- Cruising range 950 nautical miles (1760 km)
- Engine output 28,000 kW (37,548 hpHorsepowerHorsepower is the name of several units of measurement of power. The most common definitions equal between 735.5 and 750 watts.Horsepower was originally defined to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses in continuous operation. The unit was widely adopted to measure the...
)