Despatch Australian Made World's Largest Battery Ship to Türkiye as Climate Talks Venue

This is to suggest the Australian Government borrow Hull 096 from Tasmanian shipbuilder Incat and send it to Türkiye as a venue for climate change negotiations. The world’s largest battery powered ship, which can carry 2,100 passengers is being completed for service in South America. The vessel could be temporarily renamed "Australia". This would send a message to the world that Australia is serious about renewable energy. 

There is a precedent for the use of an Incat high speed ferry as a venus at an international event. During the Sydney Olympics, Austrade organised Business Club Australia, aboard an Incat ferry at Sydney's Darling Harbour. I was a guest onboard and spoke to Robert Clifford AO, Chairman of Incat on the bridge. 

Stealthy Optionally Crewed Catamaran for Australian Navy

HMAS Stradbroke Island.
Stealthy Optionally Crewed
Catamaran for Australian Navy
Diagram by Tom Worthington,
CC-BY 21 February 2024

The Australian Government released a fleet plan for the Navy yesterday which included designing and building six large optionally crewed missile carry ships. Australian companies Austal and Incat have both made catamaran high speed transports for the US military, derived from their car ferry designs. Austal have also make trimarans with stealthy tumble-home hulls for the US navy. Both companies offer high levels of automation. They could either (or both) produce vessels for the Australian requirement. I suggest any such design should be designed for these features (but with not all fitted to very vessel):

1. Tumblehome hull: The hull would slope inward above the waterline, and the superstructure would be free of railings, masts, cranes, and other items, to reduce the radar cross-section. All equipment needed on deck would be covered. 

2. Vertical Launch Cells: Rows of vertical launch cells would extend down into each of the catamaran hulls.

3. Drone Hangar:  A covered hangar forward of the flight deck would accommodate UAVs. Automated systems would launch, recover and service the drones.

4. XLUUV Bay: A travelling gantry with cradle between the hulls would pick up Extra-Large Unmanned Undersea Vehicles (XLUUV), while the ship is underway. The bay would be equipped with  ECLIPS robots for automated rearming & refueling, before dropping the XLUUVs back in the water.

5. USV Bay: A bay at the back of the vessel, would allow Uncrewed Surface Vessels (USV) to be launched and recovered. Automated systems would service the USVs.

6. Self Defense Auto-cannons: The four corners of the ship would each have a small caliber auto-cannon similar to the EOS Slinger, for self defence from missiles, drones, and small boats. Each cannon would be equipped with an electro-optical sight, radar, backup power supply, and operator station. This would allow the ship to be defended even if all other power and systems failed.

While the media has made much of the "optionally crewed" feature of the vessels, of more significance is that the ships are highly automated and so only need a small crew, about one quarter of a conventional military vessel, when they are aboard. 

ps: John Birmingham's book "Weapons of Choice" featured highly automated ship warfare. One of the ships was an Australia high speed catamaran HMAS Moreton Bay, apparently inspired by the real HMAS Jervis Bay. This was an Incat built high speed catamaran, which transported troops to East Timor. I wrote a review of the book, and as was John's custom, I hoped he would use my name for a sister ship "USS Stradbroke Island", but unfortunately not. ;-)

Australian Built Ship Deploys Surveillance Blimp for US Navy

During the Sydney 2000 Olympics, I was briefly in charge on the bridge of an Incat high speed ship (that is not as reckless as it sounds with the ship alongside a wharf in Sydney). While in Sydney, the ship was demonstrated to the US Defense Department who subsequently leased several and later ordered a new class of similar Australian designed high speed ships from Austral. These vessels are intended for transport of equipment and personnel (the Japanese military have also used one for military transport).  But these vessels have also be tried out for other military roles, the latest of which is to deploy a Tethered Aerostat (unmanned blimp) from the stern of HSV-2 Swift. The aerostat can be positioned 3,000 feet above the vessel for surveillance.