Project Echo: ‘HSV’ Humanitarian Support Vessel
Design release by Echo Yachts and Bannenberg & Rowell Design
Australia’s large custom Superyacht and Yacht Support Vessel builder Echo Yachts are pleased to release their new Project Echo – ‘HSV’ Humanitarian Support Vessel design which utilizes the same platform and principal particulars as their earlier Project Echo – ‘ASY’ Adventure Support Yacht catamaran motor yacht.
Designed in collaboration with London’s Bannenberg & Rowell and Australia’s Incat Crowther Naval Architects, the 50m LOA Project Echo – ‘HSV’ Humanitarian Support Vessel delivers an equally stylish, extremely stable and capable craft. Moderate and High Speed powering options are available.
The layout is configurable in a multitude of ways for philanthropic clients looking to support Humanitarian missions in challenging, remote and shallow water locations, as well as make use of the vessel for their own cruising and diving adventures wherever possible.
In addition to Bannenberg & Rowell’s progressive exterior styling, the Project Echo platform is a perfectly suited heavy-seas offshore catamaran hull designed by the team at Incat Crowther Naval Architects for class leading performance with a large reduction in engine powering requirements compared to similar length monohulled platforms, therefore delivering exceptional fuel efficiency and range.
Customizable spaces and features onboard the Project Echo – HSV can include externally accessible isolated treatment rooms, medical rooms, laboratory space, cooled and dry medical supply storage spaces. Specially configured HVAC systems can also provide 100% fresh-air to isolation rooms with no re-circulation to further minimize contamination risk.
With a 40 tonne cargo deadweight carrying capacity and special integrated cargo deck rail fastening system, Project Echo’s superior wide body cargo zone is perfectly suited to carrying multiple large tenders, water sports equipment, humanitarian cargo modules and supporting helicopter operations for medivac and guest transfers.
Watercraft and landing Craft are launched and retrieved with a heavy-duty 12 tonne knuckle-boom crane enabling the loading and unloading of 10ft cube cargo containers, delivery of medical supplies and drinking water modules. Evacuation of several stretchered patients to the vessel can be achieved with the aid of a large tender such as a 12m catamaran landing-craft tender by custom tender specialists All-seas Design and Vikal Australia, or via helicopter.
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Chris Blackwell of Echo Yachts:
“This new customizable design is offered at a lower price point than our previous Project Echo – ‘ASY’ Adventure Support Yacht model and sees the removal of the large flush-deck A-frame crane from the stern, yet remains very capable of launching and retrieving large watercraft and submersibles with its 12 tonne knuckle-boom crane. Our pricing, our 100% customizable design philosophy and timely delivery are further improved due to the low Australian Dollar and our immediate newbuild project capacity”.
Dickie Bannenberg of Bannenberg & Rowell:
“There is a history of London / Western Australian collaboration in the Bannenberg studio of course, and we have been very pleased to continue that with Echo Yachts and Incat Crowther on this new design initiative.
Support Vessels are an interesting and growing segment of the market but not necessarily one populated with vessels which combine both form and function as we believe the Echo Yachts vessel does.
The catamaran platform offers stability, fuel efficient range and space – providing an ideal mother ship for adventure and humanitarian operations whenever the need might arise. It’s good looking and practical. Echo Yachts are able to offer many technical and yacht finish options to suit any need and it has been a pleasure working with them.”
Brett Crowther of Incat Crowther Naval Architects:
“Incat Crowther is pleased to support the development of the newly designed ‘Project Echo’ Humanitarian Support Vessel’. Working under Echo Yachts’ lead, and in conjunction with Bannenberg & Rowell for exterior styling, Incat Crowther brings our well proven offshore catamaran hull form and engineering capability to underpin the concept perfectly.
Ideally suited to the specific operational requirements of this concept, our catamaran hull has a large and functional deck space with the ability to carry significant cargo and ancillary equipment, custom tenders and other deck equipment, together with fuel and provisions for a four thousand mile operational range.
Together with its high deadweight capacity and exemplary propulsive efficiency, this Incat Crowther hull form has already been well proven in tough oceanic conditions, and is the benchmark solution in the commercial offshore oil and gas industry, where superior sea keeping, ruggedness and performance offshore are paramount.”