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A high-speed craft (HSC) is a high-speed water Ship for civilian use, also called a fastcraft or fast ferry. The first high-speed craft were often or hovercraft, but in the 1990s catamaran and monohull designs become more popular. Most high-speed craft serve as passenger ferry, but the largest catamarans and monohulls also carry cars, buses, large trucks and freight.
In the 1990s there were a variety of builders, but due to HSC high fuel consumption, many shipbuilders have withdrawn from this market so the construction of the largest fast ferries, up to 127 metres, has been consolidated to two Australian companies, Austal of Perth and Incat of Hobart. There is still a wide variety of builders for smaller fast catamaran ferries between 24 and 60 metres.
Hulled designs are often powered by coupled to medium-speed diesel engines. Hovercraft are usually powered by gas turbines or diesel engines driving and impellers.
The design and safety of high-speed craft is regulated by the SOLAS Convention, Chapter 10, High-Speed Craft (HSC) Codes of 1994 and 2000, adopted by the Maritime Safety Committee of the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
In accordance with SOLAS Chapter 10 Reg. 1.3, high-speed craft are craft capable of a maximum speed, in metres per second (m/s), equal to or exceeding:
where = volume of displacement in cubic metres corresponding to the design waterline, excluding craft of which the hull is supported clear above the water surface in non-displacement mode by aerodynamic forces generated by ground effect.
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