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July 26, 2003

The United States Navy's new High Speed Vessel, HSV-X1 Joint Venture, arrived at the Port of Djibouti on July 21st, with personnel from Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa, who had been participating in training exercises in Kenya.  HSV-X1 had been spotted entering Djibouti harbor several times in the months prior, presumably to refuel. 

The 313-foot Joint Venture is a high-speed, aluminum catamaran-hulled, ocean-going vessel that can ferry up to 325 combat personnel and 400 tons of cargo nearly 3,000 miles one way at speeds in excess of 70 kilometers an hour. It is extremely agile, capable of making a sharp 90-degree turn at full speed and stopping in three ship lengths. Her captain has declared her the "most maneuverable ship in the Navy".

The HSV-X1 provides a task force commander with a rapidly re-configured command post and logistics base, capable of ship-to-shore logistics in coastal  waters for both heliborne and amphibious operations (including force insertion, recovery and redeployment). The HSV also operates as a countermeasure command vessel and the Navy plans to have it act as a mother ship for the wide variety of future systems that are in the works now. - Adam Geibel

HSV Concept paper with illustrations, online at:
http://www.nwdc.navy.mil/HSV/ConceptHSV.asp