By
Rebecca Gibson |
Singapore Collaborative won a Worldwide Ferry Safety Association (WFSA) competition to design a safe and affordable 300-passenger ferry for use on the Singapore Strait.
Supported by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, the 2018 International Student Design Competition for a Safe Affordable Ferry competition required students to design a passenger ferry that could safely traverse the Singapore Strait and access terminals in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Entrants were expected to account for local weather patterns and traffic conditions in the Malacca and Singapore Strait.
“The design competition lets the next generation of mariners know about the needs and opportunities for safe ferry design and operations,” said Roberta Weisbrod, executive director of WFSA. “The competition was difficult and student teams who made submissions are to be commended. We were forced to choose among many good entries. The award-winning teams were technically proficient and created innovative designs.”
First place went to SolarJet, which was designed by the Singapore Collaborative, a group formed of team members from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Management University and Newcastle University in Singapore.
SolarJet was designed with a tri-mono hull to increase stability and remove the need for ballasts, as well as an aluminium-steel alloy frame to provide a strong and lightweight skeletal core, while minimising material assembly costs. The vessel was designed to be primarily powered by diesel fuel, but also features an expansive malleable screen on her roof to provide supplementary solar power. The screen doubles as an augmented reality screen showing manmade visuals when it is not being used to generate solar energy.
To ensure safe navigation, SolarJet was designed with a waterjet propulsion system, azipods, bow and stern thrusters, and an organic light emitting diode (OLED) screens in the wheelhouse that indicates the presence of incoming ships and weather patterns. This OLED system is powered by internet of things sensors throughout the vessels.
Second prize went to a team from Indonesia’s Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember Surabaya for its diesel-LNG hybrid, aluminium catamaran, which was named Archimaiden. Innovative features included a straightforward design to help with easy construction and operation, as well as a debris monitoring system and a solution to keep any debris from clogging the ferry’s intakes.