MITSUI SUPER ACVAS, RIVER OBSERVATION BOAT NAMED "SUMIDAGAWA"

Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding Company, Japan, has developed a new type ship called an ACVAS (Air Cushion Vehicle with Aft Skegs), that belongs to the category of air cushion vehicles. While hovering like a hovercraft, it is driven by waterjets or surface propellers powered by prime mover engines installed in port and starboard skegs in the vessel stern. Speeds of 30 knots or more are obtainable at low engine output levels. Two major drawbacks of hovercraft--hard- to-control swaying movement and unpleasant noise generated into the air--are countervailed, respectively, by the resistance of the stern skegs in the water and by the fact that the propulsion sources are installed in the skegs. Also, no appreciable traveling waves are observed behind the hull. Taken together, these features make the ACVAS highly suited for operation in river and port areas. The first ACVAS in actual operation, the river observation boat SUMIDAGAWA, in service in the Tokyo area since May 1989, is described. A perspective drawing, general arrangement plans, a speed-power curve and photos accompany the text.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Journal article
• Publication Date: 1989-6

Language

• Japanese

Media Info

• Pagination: 6 p.
• Serial:
  • Mitsui Zosen Technical Review
  • Issue Number: No.137

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Air cushion vehicles; Skegs; Waterjet propelled craft
• Old TRIS Terms: Acvas (Air cushion vehicle with aft skegs); River vessels; Sumidagawa (Vessel); Waterjet propulsion
• Subject Areas: Marine Transportation; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00658139
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Maritime Technical Information Facility
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jul 21 1994 12:00AM