Snow & Company Building New Research Vessel for Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Seattle shipyard Snow & Company has started building a new 15m hybrid catamaran research vessel for operation by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

The Incat Crowther designed vessel will be powered by an advanced parallel hybrid-electric propulsion system, consisting of two Volvo Penta D8-510 main engines, capable of producing 374 kW each, supplemented by two Danfoss Editron EM-PMI375-T200-2600 motor-generators. Power is stored using a state-of-the-art Spear Trident battery system, allowing the vessel to operate quietly in a zero-emission electric state while engaged in a mixture of survey operational modes.

Incat Crowther said it has developed a bespoke design that offers exceptional capability for its size. The vessel’s 28m2 main deck is equipped with an A-Frame, boom crane and movable davit in addition to access to a foldable swim platform, extracting maximum functionality from the space. A set of stairs offer direct access from the main deck to the upper deck and flybridge, which affords excellent all-round visibility. The vessel can support the research of six scientists in a tailored layout containing multiple research workstations and convertible sleeping arrangements, providing PNNL a capable platform to efficiently carry out their research.

Principal dimensions
Length Overall: 50’ / 15.24m
Length Waterline: 49.7’/ 15.15m
Beam Overall: 15.9’ / 4.86m
Draft (hull): 2.8’ / 0.85m
Draft (prop or max): 3.8’ / 1.15m
Depth: 7.54’ / 2.3m
Construction: Marine grade aluminum

Capacities
Fuel Oil: 600 gallons / 2,300 liters
Fresh Water: 80 gallons / 300 liters
Sullage: 80 gallons / 300 liters
Crew: 2
Scientific Staff: 6

Propulsion and performance
Speed (Service): 20 knots
Speed (Max): 29 knots
Range: 400 nm
Main Engines: 2 x Volvo D8-510
Power: 2 x 374 kW @ 2850 RPM
Gearboxes: 2 x Twin Disc MGX-5075 SC
Motors / Generators: 2 x Danfoss EM-PMI375-T200-2600
Propulsion: 2 x Propellers
Batteries: Spear Trident 113kWh