Article from Australian Oil &Gas Magazine

Press Release

Date:  30 November 2011

Subject:  Albany Port orders Hart ORC 15.6 Pilot Boat

Hart Marine has recently been chosen to deliver a new pilot boat for Albany Port,Western Australia,  to replace the 25 year-old vessel currently in service there.

Last year the company delivered two of its ORC pilot vessels to Port Phillip Sea Pilots (PPSP) who operate in notoriously rough waters and had previously lost a pilot boat when the vessel overturned in the entrance to the bay.  After a global evaluation of pilot vessels, the ORC range - the result of Hart’s collaboration with naval architects Pantocarene France – was chosen.  According to PPSP,  the new pilot vessels have surpassed performance expectations.  The ORC range has also been gaining international recognition and success,  with vessels new in service in ports and harbours in France,  Germany and the United Kingdom.

Albany Port Authority CEO Brad Williamson named Hart’s ORC15.6 as the optimum design for the port’s requirements. Apart from the fundamental role of transferring a pilot in all weather,  the Albany Port Authority specified a need for high performance sea-keeping to handle the larger swell conditions encountered around the Southdown mining project 49 nautical miles north-east of Albany.

The ORC15.6 satisfied Albany’s demand for a self-righting vessel. Other features include oversized rudders for increased manoeuvrability;  wide side decks with an Ocean 3 fender system to facilitate pilot transfer; and a suspended wheelhouse that reduces structure-borne noise and vibration and thereby reduces crew fatigue.  Improved stability and sea-keeping characteristics are achieved through the vessel’s hull form,  with a wide waterline and wave-piercing beak bow to minimise pitching. Twin turbo-charged diesel engines rated at 450kW drive fixed pitch propellers enabling a 25-knot operational speed with good fuel efficiency.

The construction time for the boat will be 12 months,  with the Port Authority to name the new vessel in due course.