Nichols wins Navy X-boat contract

Published 8:00 am Saturday, March 1, 2003

>X-Craft.

It sounds like something out of a James Bond movie.

And when Nichols Brothers Boat Builders start work on it this spring, it will look like something out of a Bond movie, too.

This week, the Freeland ship builder announced that it just signed a contract to build a prototype for what could be the new look of the new Navy. In May, the Nichols Brothers yard will lay the twin keels for what could be one of the fastest ships in the U.S. fleet — a 265-foot aluminum catamaran fast enough to outrun a torpedo and big enough to transport anything ground troops might need in a combat zone.

If proven successful in sea trials, the $59.9 million boat could be the first in a line of 30 to 60 craft, some of which might be built in Freeland.

Subcontracted to Nichols Brothers by San Diego defense contractor Titan Corporation during discussions between the two companies and the vessel’s designer two weeks ago, the X-Craft may be the next generation in naval warfare. Steve Nordtvedt, program manager for the project with Titan subsidiary International Systems, said Thursday that the catamaran — which is expected to be completed by summer 2004 — is a “hydrodynamic research vessel” that will compete with at least one other design commissioned by the Office of Naval Research.

“This is an expression that the military is looking into high-speed vessels,” he said.

In his Freeland office this week, Nichols Brothers president Matt Nichols was showing off plans for the boat, which he said is the most ambitious catamaran project his company has ever undertaken. Having beaten out seven other shipyards for the contract, Nichols said he feels fortunate to get the nod on this, the company’s first-ever military contract work.

Price was a factor. Nichols said smaller shipyards were sought out for the X-Craft prototype — yards that could deliver a product for a fraction of the billions of dollars charged for large ships built at Navy construction yards.

“The military wants shipyards like us to get involved,” he said.

When work gets going in earnest on the vessel, the Nichols yard will have an air of science fiction around it. Low, wide and long, the X-Craft will be the second largest vessel built by Nichols Brothers, about 100 feet shorter and 2,600 tons lighter than the $50 million cruise ship currently under construction at the yard, the Empress of the North.

But it will be the most powerful ever built at the yard. Its two gas turbine engines are expected to produce 66,000 horsepower, more than eight times that of the giant Empress. Nichols said that power would be part of the X-Craft’s primary mission, which would be high-speed, short-haul transport in combat zones.

The craft’s plans show a stealthy, low profile ship armed with a missile launcher and carrying two heavy-lift helicopters on its flat upper deck. Titan’s Nordtvedt de-emphasized the configuration, insisting that this vessel is only for research. He avoided a question on the vessel’s possible stealth abilities, something the Navy has started designing into its next generation of destroyers.

“That’s not something we talking about,” he said.

News of the contract made it to Washington, D.C. Rep. Rick Larsen said Thursday that he was pleased to hear Nichols won the contract for the X-Craft. Saying the project is part of a “renaissance of shipbuilding” in the Northwest, he noted the contract will keep the 355 people at Nichols working.

A member of the House Armed Services Committee, Larsen said he believes the X-Craft is the type of vessel the Navy needs. Currently the worlds largest with 301 combat vessels, the Navy is moving toward building smaller, more versatile ships. Having high-speed catamarans in the fleet would allow for faster troop delivery to trouble spots, Larsen said.

“I would argue that this is an excellent taxpayer investment,” he said.

When complete, the X-Craft will undergo sea trials and may compete against an Australian-designed combat catamaran for a possible production contract. The Navy contract specifies that the X-Craft vessel must be able to sustain speeds of 50 knots (about 58 mph) with a full load of cargo or troops. A 320-foot Australian cat, the Army-Navy Joint Venture, is already in the test phase. It made a visit to Nichols Brothers in August after sustaining damage during a high-speed run from San Diego to Seattle.

Rep. Larsen said that if he has his way, the Australian vessel, built by Incat, won’t get much of a chance in the competition. Currently, U.S. law largely prohibits the military from signing military contracts with foreign firms. Larsen said there is currently a movement in the military community to ease that restriction, a movement he does not support.

“I’m encouraging the Navy to buy American,” he said.

As an aside, Larsen noted that another catamaran that is the subject of Navy research, appeared in the 1997 James Bond movie “Tomorrow Never Dies.” He made no cinematic promises for the X-Craft.

Commenting on the project by email Friday, Stephen Saunders, a naval affairs editor for England’s Janes Information Group, said the U.S. military’s interest in high-speed transport craft is “relatively new.” Two craft, the Joint Venture and the Westpac Express, built by another Australian company and chartered by Military Sealift Command, are being used for high-speed strategic deployment and for experimentation.

The Westpac Express is currently in service transporting troops and equipment from Okinawa, Japan. Saunders said the military is looking at chartering two more Incat craft in 2003.

He also said the letting of the contract to Nichols Brothers and the large potential production run are “noteworthy.”

“What is interesting is that such craft, hitherto the preserve of the two Australian shipbuilders, are to be built at Whidbey Island,” Saunders wrote in an email. “I know nothing of your local shipbuilder but would stress that it is knowledge of the catamaran technology rather than military shipbuilding that is the key ingredient.”

Matt Nichols said work on the X-Craft will begin in May, the same month his company puts the Empress of the North to sea. If the vessel proves successful and the Navy decides to build a production run, he said his shipyard to could construct five or six of them and up to two at a time. The work, he said, would allow the company to maintain its current workforce, which is almost three times larger than it was a decade ago.

Nichols Brothers will not install weapons systems aboard the prototype. Nichols said he does not expect building a Navy ship in Freeland to be a security concern for the company.