VESSEL REVIEW | Harald – Flexible landing craft for Stockholm archipelago

Finnish boatbuilder Kewatec AluBoat has delivered a new landing craft workboat to Swedish building material supplier Woody Bygghandel Åkersberga.

The owner supplies building materials from its Stockholm base throughout the Stockholm archipelago and needed an efficient way of getting to all its clients.

The main requirements that were asked of Kewatec were for a big deck to maximise cargo space, a powerful crane for loading and unloading cargo, minimal draught for greatest access to shore and a maximum 15-metre hull length. Other requests included a kitchen/pantry and toilet for the crew in the event that they had to spend an entire day aboard.

Kewatec has certainly achieved these requirements in Harald, a vessel with a length of 14.95 metres, beam of 5.15 metres, 0.6-metre draught and displacement of 14.8 tonnes. A hydraulic bow door is wide enough for cars and some larger equipment to self-load off a dock or beach whilst a Fassi deck crane can extend to reach the entire cargo area.

Propulsion is courtesy of a pair of Volvo Penta D6 330 DHP diesel stern drives, each producing 430 kW. Combined, the two engines give Harald a top speed of 34 knots. The selection of stern drives rather than shaft driven propellers was made to enhance the shallow water capabilities of the vessel. Also installed in the engine room is a MASE 700 auxiliary engine providing 230 volts power to the ship systems, which include Simrad navigation and communication gear.

A Sidepower bow thruster has been fitted and aids with manoeuvrability and comes in handy when needing to load or unload at austere docks that are difficult to tie up to. The diesel engines are fed by two 650-litre fuel tanks, one each port and starboard.

The wheelhouse has seating for a skipper and one deck hand in chairs that offer excellent visibility in most directions. The aft of the wheelhouse is given to a cooking area whilst a toilet is located underneath.