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Boericke "shark form" monohull


Lundborg's SWATH Patent

Creed-Lewis SeaDrome


Frederick Creed's SeaDrome


Leopold's TRISEC concept

HISTORY OF SWATH TECHNOLOGY

The term "high technology" most often brings to mind thoughts of computers and electrical components. Nekton's business, however, centerpieces "high technology" in an industry whose main product has not changed in fundamental shape or configuration for centuries. The industry is ship design.

The shape of traditional vessels approximates a modified rectangular box. The box ends are rounded and appurtenances in the form of masts, wheelhouses, coamings, bulwarks, etc., are frequent. This traditional design has performed its primary function of transportation very well over the centuries and has established an entire culture of seafarers whose main distinction from their landlubbing counterparts is the exceptional ability to resist or contend with mal de mer (seasickness).

Time line

 1880 - an inventor named Lundborg patented a ship design radically different from the long standing conventional ship design. The design is today referred to by the acronym "SWATH" which stands for "small waterplane area twin hull" ship. A SWATH consists of two submarine-like pontoons completely immersed below the surface of the water. Struts extending vertically from the submerged pontoons pierce the water's surface and terminate at the bridge deck of the vessel. The bridge deck holds the two pontoons apart at a set distance, supports any upper decks, and provides the main body of the vessel.

 1938 - Frederick G. Creed, a Canadian, presents his idea for a small-waterplane-area twin-hull aircraft carrier to the British Admiralty. Several years later Creed is permitted to show it to the U.S. Navy, but they do not pursue the concept. In 1946, Frederick Creed is awarded a British patent for the SeaDrome

1959 - U.S. Navy activity in moderately high speed "semi-submerged ships" begins with H. Boericke proposing the streamlined "shark form" monohull, for which he was awarded a patent in 1962.

1967 - Dr. Reuven Leopold of Litton Industries presents to the U.S. Navy his moderately high speed TRISEC concept2, for which he was awarded a patent in June, 1969.  

1968 - The 40m long, low speed small-waterplane-area twin-hull vessel Duplus3 is launched by the Boele Shipyard in the Netherlands. Designer of the 1200-ton Duplus is a Dutch naval constructor, J. J. Stenger, who based his design for a self-propelled oil exploration support vessel on the fact that submarines lying at periscope depth experience little wave-induced motion. 

1968 - an M.I.T. student proposes a streamlined version of the MOHOLE platform for a class project and carries out model tests on the design, which he called a semi-submerged catamaran. 

1968 - Dr. Tom Lang of the Naval Underseas Center (NUC) in San Diego begins intensive development of his concept for a "high speed ship with semi- submerged hulls", for which he was awarded a U.S. patent in 1971. A key element of the concept is the provision of movable horizontal fins located aft of the vessel’s center of gravity to stabilize vessel trim and pitch motions at higher speeds. 

1970 - Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co., in Tokyo, begins basic research on the "semi-submerged catamaran", or SSC. 

1972 - Construction begins on the 190-ton SWATH workboat SSP KAIMALINO for NUC after 18 months of research by engineers at NUC and nearly 2.5 years of design and confirmatory model testing4. Launching occurs in March, 1973. 

1973 - The acronym "SWATH" is coined by U. S. Navy technocrats who promote its use, rather than "semi-submerged" ship or catamaran, to distinguish this concept from conventional catamarans. 

1979 - Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding completes the world’s first commercial SWATH ferry, the 26.5 knot MESA 80 (aka, SEAGULL), with a capacity of 446 passengers5.  

1988 - Pacific Marine commissions the Navatek I designed by Ludwig Seidl. This is the first passenger carrying SWATH to be certificated and inspected by the U.S. Coast Guard. 

1991 - The first of a class of 4 SWATH acoustic Surveillance ships designed by the U.S. Navy, the 71.5 m long victorious, is delivered to the Military Sealift Command. The new TAGOS SWATH vessels are replacing a fleet of mono-hulls that operate almost exclusively in the notoriously rough North Sea. The mono-hull vessels were only able to operate at about 66% utilization due to the extremely rough sea conditions. The SWATH vessels are operating at 95%.  

1992 - Finnyards delivers the first SWATH cruiseliner, the 131 m long Radisson Diamond.  

1993 - The existence of the world’s first so-called "stealth" ship, the U.S. Navy’s 50 m long Sea Shadow, an A-Frame SWATH ship built by Lockheed Missiles and Aerospace Co., is declassified and disclosed publicly, leading to a cover article in the July ’93 issue of Popular Mechanics.  

1994 - Nekton Diving Cruises joins the short list of SWATH operators with the construction of the Nekton Pilot. The Nekton Pilot is the 32nd SWATH vessel built since the technology was discovered and the second in the World to receive U. S. Coast Guard certification.  

2008- Over 100 SWATH's are in operation around the world today.
 
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