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World's Largest Catamaran Ferry In Service Rokko Maru, 2,700-gt catamaran ferry, making crossing from Kobe to Takamatsu, Japan. The Rokko Maru, a 2,700 gross ton catamaran ferry, the world's largest, built by Nippon Kokan, has entered service between Kobe and Takamatsu on Japan's Inland Sea. Hiroo Ikematsu, NKK's New York naval architect, said the new vessel, built for Kansai Steamship Co., Ltd., is about five times larger than most catamarans operating in Japan, which aver- age 500 gross tons. The Rokko Maru can accommo- date the equivalent of 42 heavy trucks, 10 light trucks, 50 auto- mobiles, and 580 passengers. Two areas on the main deck and one on the passenger deck collectively provide 2,820 square yards for ve- hicle loading. The main deck has an area of 1,830 square yards, equivalent to an athletic field with a 660-foot track. Facilities include a deluxe observation lounge above the passenger deck and a spacious economy section with snack coun- ter service. Principal characteristics of. the Rokko Maru are as follows: overall length,274 feet 1-jHs inches; overall length bpp, 255 feet 10-% inches; breadth molded, 82 feet % Talbot Appointed Staff Engineer For Kelvin Hughes Peter M. Talbot has been ap- pointed staff engineer for Kelvin Hughes Division, Smiths Indus- tries, Inc., a British-based marine electronics firm with North Amer- ican operations headquartered at Woburn, Mass. Mr. Talbot will be responsible for systems engineering and new product development for the com- pany's North American operations, according to G.M. Benas, Division vice-president. Before joining Kelvin Hughes, Mr. Talbot was a senior engineer with the Raytheon Company; and before that he was with National Radio Company. A graduate of Tufts University with a B.S.E.E. degree, Mr. Talbot also served four years as a first inch; single hull breadth molded, 22 feet 11-^ inches; depth molded, 26 feet 3 inches; draft molded, 15 feet 4*4 inches. The distance between Kobe, a major port city on Honshu Is- land, and Takamatsu on Shikoku Island, is 70 miles. The new ferry, with a cruising speed of 19 knots, is the fastest ship now traveling between the two islands. She is powered by two Daihatsu 8DSM- 26 diesel engines, one in each hull, which develop 5,760 hp at 695/ 185.5 rpm. Mr. Ikematsu said the catamaran design offers several advantages compared with conventional single hull ferries. Among these are ex- ceptionally spacious deck space due to the wide platform afforded by the twin hull design; excellent maneuverability because of the shallow draft and the wide separa- tion between the two engines; su- perior stability because the twin hull design has less wave resis- tance than conventional vessels; high service-speed compared with main engine horsepower and gross tonnage; and ease of loading and unloading vehicles afforded by the inclined bow ramp. lieutenant in the United States Air Force. Kelvin Hughes is a leading manufacturer of radar, loran, and marine communications equipment for commercial and pleasure ves- sels, and has sales and service facilities located in key ports throughout North America and around the world. Lykes-Youngstown Appoints Bartle Frank A. Nemec, president of Lykes-Youngstown Corporation, has announced the appointment of Thomas P. Bartle Jr. as director of corporate communications, a new position. Headquartered in New York, Mr. Bartle will be responsible for shareholder, financial, and public relations, corporate marketing and advertising for all divisions of the company. Hankins To Head Columbian Rope Chicago Operations William L. Hankins Jr. Frank Metcalf, president of Col- umbian Rope Company, Auburn, N.Y., has announced the appoint- ment of William L. Hankins Jr. as manager of the Chicago district office. Mr. Hankins assumes the post m place of Orrin H. Tyberg, recently deceased. He has been Chicago branch manager of the Plymouth The Philadelphia Section of The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers held a joint meeting with the Marine Group, Philadelphia Section, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engi- neers on February 20, 1970. The paper presented at this meet- ing was entitled "Electrical Trans- mission Systems for Arctic Tank- ers," and was presented by Richard L. Koch, marine systems engineer, General Electric Co., Schenectady, N.Y. This paper prompted a great deal of interest and formal discus- sions were presented by A.C. Brown, of the J.J. Henry Co.; S.S. Morse, Atlantic-Richfield Co.; G. A. Johnson, United States Army Corps of Engineers; D.B. Hoover, Westinghouse Electric Corpora- tion ; Jack Lewis, LCDR, United States Coast Guard; and C.E. Heil, Atlantic-Richfield Co. The coordi- nator for this meeting was Thomas P. Campbell, head-electrical engi- neer, Sun Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company. The paper covered four candi- date electrical transmission sys- tems considered for this applica- tion. The detail performance of two of these systems, AC Variable Voltage and AC-Rectified-DC, are covered in the paper along with the analog computer program used Cordage Division of Columbian Rope for the past seven years. The Chicago branch serves the midwest from Ohio to Colorado and from the Kansas-Oklahoma line to the Canadian border. Prudential-Grace Names Sands VP Frederic P. Sands has been named vice-president, advertising and public relations, for Pruden- tial-Grace Lines, Inc., it was an- nounced by Spyros S. Skouras, president. Mr. Sands, who joined Grace Line in 1936, was responsible for its advertising and public relations programs from 1957 through 1968. He was elected a vice-president in 1964. In 1969 he became assis- tant to the president of Grace Line and continued to handle public re- lations. He held this position until January of this year, when Pru- dential Lines acquired Grace Line and the new company was formed. Fred Praisman, chairman, Philadelphia Section, IEEE Marine Group (left) is shown with Kent C. Thornton, chairman of the Philadelphia Section of SNAME. to simulate the operation of the AC-Rectified-DC system. Mr. Koch is a graduate of the University of Idaho with a degree in electrical engineering. He served in the United States Navy during World War II and has held several engineering positions in the Gen- eral Electric Company prior to his present assignment as marine elec- trical systems engineer in the ma- rine and defense facilities sales op- eration of the General Electric Company in Schenectady, N.Y. Philadelphia SNAME And IEEE Joint Meeting Principals at the Philadelphia meeting shown above, left to right, are: LCDR. Jack Lewis, discussor; G.A. Johnson, discussor; Kent C. Thornton, chairman of the SNAME Philadelphia Section; Richard L. Koch, author; Thomas P. Campbell, coordinator of the joint meeting; A.C. Brown, S.S. Morse, and D.B. Hoover, discussors. 50 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News
