Week of honour as Incat wins two awards

Australian high speed shipbuilder Incat has been awarded the Aurora Energy 2008 Tasmanian Award for Manufacturing.

Incat’s Founder and Chairman, Robert Clifford, also became the second holder of the Interferry Person of Distinction award. The award presentation to Mr Clifford was made during Interferry’s 33rd annual conference in Hong Kong. The trade association accolade recognizes Mr Clifford’s leading role in the development of large vehicle-carrying aluminium catamarans, a sector in which the Tasmania-based company claims almost 40 per cent of the world market. In the latest citation, Interferry CEO Len Roueche said: “Robert Clifford has been at the forefront of high-speed catamaran technology for more than 30 years and, in terms of large vehicle carriers, could certainly be called the father of the concept. “He was almost a lone voice for many years but has since seen his vision embraced by major operators on every continent.” Mr Clifford said he was deeply honoured and very surprised to be nominated by his industry peers, adding: “I have always believed that fast ferries would have an ever-increasing place in the transport scene, and it is pleasing to see the general acceptance that has made this a reality.” Arguing the economic and environmental case for fast ferries, he pointed out: “On some routes they burn less fuel than heavy steel ships as their hulls are made of material about half the weight of steel. This allows them either to be lower powered for the same speed, or to travel faster and make more revenue crossings.
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