US-based shipbuilder Metal Shark has delivered two passenger vessels to Entertainment Cruises’ unit Potomac Riverboat Company.
The 88ft-long, high-speed aluminium catamarans were built at Metal Shark’s shipyard in Franklin, Louisiana, and have already entered service by sailing from Georgetown and Alexandria to The Wharf in Washington DC, US.
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The new ‘Potomac Taxi I’ and ‘Potomac Taxi II’ catamarans are designed to carry 149 passengers each.
Both vessels have been equipped with an environmentally friendly low-wake / low-wash hull and are powered by a pair of Scania DI13 081M diesel engines, which deliver 500HP at 1,800RPM.
The new USCG Subchapter T-type vessels were designed by BMT Designers and Planners and BMT Nigel Gee.
Metal Shark Commercial Sales director Carl Wegener said: “We commenced construction on these vessels in March and completed them in six months.”
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By GlobalDataThe company was also selected by passenger vessel operator Hornblower to build five high-speed aluminium catamarans last month.
The order will see Metal Shark construct four 97ft-long, 28ft-wide vessels, which will be able to accommodate 350 passengers each.
It also includes the construction of a 85ft, 150-passenger USCG Subchapter T-type vessel.
The vessels are currently under construction at Metal Shark’s Franklin shipyard and will be delivered by next year.
