AN EVALUATION OF THE SWATH VESSEL FREDERICK G. CREED IN THE CANADIAN NORTH ATLANTIC

The Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull (SWATH) Vessel, FREDERICK G. CREED, is presently chartered to the U.S./Canada Hydrographic Commission for a six month period, December 1989 through May 1990. This paper presents the observed Canadian operational performance of the CREED as a vessel for hydrographic, oceanographic and other ocean related tasks. Some design features are discussed in the context of the observed CREED response in the winter North Atlantic environment based on the experience gained from this first practical hands-on evaluation of SWATH technology off the east coast of Canada. These experiences could be invaluable technically and operationally to both the public and private sector. Judiciously selected operational roles can be accomplished with relatively small SWATH ships with the inherent economy of smaller vessel size, lower number of crew and greater useful productive time.