Snow & Company Delivers Hybrid Research Vessel Resilience to PNNL

Seattle shipbuilder Snow & Company announced it has delivered the newly built plug-in hybrid research vessel Resilience for the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

The first and only hybrid vessel in the Department of Energy's (DOE) fleet, the 50-foot aluminum catamaran was designed by Incat Crowther with propulsion integration provided by Pacific Power. Hybrid propulsion is accomplished by joining twin Volvo Penta marine engines, and two Danfoss motor-generators. Power is stored using a Spear Trident battery system.

The power and propulsion setup allows the vessel to operate in a zero-emission "quiet" state at lower speeds, enabling a more effective approach for marine research. This innovative model is less intrusive for studying fish and wildlife while also reducing air pollution and carbon dioxide emissions. The vessel can travel at 20 knots on diesel power.

The vessel is stationed at PNNL Sequim, a DOE marine research facility. Resilience will be a multi-use platform for deploying research equipment, ROV's and diving operations in support of various research projects, including power generation and environmental surveys.

Length: 50'
Beam: 16'
Draft: 3.5'
Displacement: 55,000 lbs
Fuel: 840 gallons
Fresh water: 80 gallons
Person: 2 crew, 6 scientists
Speed: Diesel - max 23 knots
Electric - max 7 knots
Electric "quiet" propulsion mode 1-6 knots for 4 hours
All-aluminum construction
5,000 lb capacity A-Frame
1,000 lb capacity crane
500 lb davit
2 Dive operation platforms
Onboard Scuba Bottle air compressor
Garmin electronics suite
Flir camera