SWATH Technology

Navatek, Ltd. pioneered commercial SWATH technology in the U.S., designing and building the first commercial U.S. Coast Guard-certified SWATH (Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull). The 16-knot, 131-foot, 430-passenger ship Navatek I was launched in 1990, marking the first advanced hull form developed by Navatek Ltd. and earning the company its first U.S. patent for its novel “Coke-bottle” SWATH hull form.

In 1993, Navatek, Ltd. designed the 20-knot, 85-foot, 149-passenger SWATH Navatek II, and built it in Hawaii at Pacific Shipyards International LLC. Navatek II incorporated canted struts developed by Lockheed-Martin Corp. further improving the vessel's inherently superior ride quality. Navatek I and Navatek II entered commercial service as tour boats in the Hawaii market.

The SWATH hull form offers exceptional sea kindliness and stability in a seaway, but requires excessive horsepower to achieve high speeds. Navatek subsequently teamed with Lockheed Martin to research and test a fast SWATH hull form variant patented by Lockheed Martin called SLICE. Navatek and Lockheed Martin received an Advanced Technology Demonstration (ATD) grant from the U.S. Office of Naval Research to design and build a 30-knot, 105-foot SLICE prototype to test the SLICE concept. The SLICE prototype vessel was launched in November 1996.