VESSEL REVIEW | Frikken – Compact hovercraft for Norwegian sea rescue agency

The Norwegian Society for Sea Rescue (Redningsselskapet; RS) has expanded its fleet of search and rescue (SAR) vessels with the recent acquisition of an air-cushion vehicle built by Swedish manufacturer Ivanoff Hovercraft.

The vessel was donated by Henrik Nørstrud, who requested that it be named Frikken in honour of his late stepbrother. Frikk Oscar Gunnari, aged only 19, died in a boating accident in 2011.

The hovercraft offers the significant advantage of being able to access areas of the Norwegian coastline where conventional SAR vessels will have difficulty operating. Also, the craft is versatile enough that it can operate safely in waters covered with ice.

Frikken has a length of 4.34 metres, a beam of 2.23 metres, and a displacement of 365 kilograms, allowing it to be transportable by trailer if required. The FRP hull is of sandwich construction with the entire bottom and the top deck walking areas built with a foam core, thus producing what the builder claims is the lightest and strongest composite hull ever used on a hovercraft. There are also more than 400 litres of built-in closed cell floatation to guarantee that the hovercraft is unsinkable, while a specially designed plenum prevents flooding whenever the vessel is operating on the water.

The propulsion system includes a Briggs and Stratton 13kW engine that generates lift and a Vanguard 27kW engine that supplies forward thrust with directional control provided by three carbon rudders. The craft can easily achieve 40 knots on ice and 25 knots on open water.

Both lift and thrust engines generate only low noise and have minimal maintenance requirements. The engines are fed by a 37-litre fuel tank, ensuring an operating range of just over 240 kilometres or an endurance of six hours.

Frikken will be operated primarily in Eastern Norway by RS volunteers specially trained in SAR duties in icy waters.

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