It may look like a 100-foot-long (33 m) noisy water spider coming from a science fiction movie but Proteus, a so-called Wave Adaptive Modular Vessel, is real and the latest in the navigation. It was developed for many purposes: from military uses to biological research, ocean exploration and sea rescue.
"The lightweight, low cost and modular craft is
well suited to scientific and environmental purposes. The spindly catamaran can travel 5,000 miles (8,000 km) - farther than across the Atlantic - on one 2,000-gallon (9,000 l) load of diesel fuel," said Daniel Basta, director of the National Marine Sanctuaries for the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.
"Proteus will be able to launch and recover automatic vehicles, do remote vehicle operations, it will be tested for standard dive support operations, putting instruments on the bottom, collecting data - all the things that we currently do in one form or another, but most likely more cheaply, effectively and probably better," said Basta.
At the beginning of the month Proteus came to New York, the fourth stop on a tour that started in San Francisco in January and will finish in Washington, D.C.
Even if the U.S. Coast Guard had been informed before of the odd craft, it dispatched a small patrol craft to control it.
The Proteus, named after a Greek sea god who could change his shape, was driven by Ugo Conti, an Italian-born engineer and oceanographer. Ugo and his wife, Isabella, are the co-founders of Marine Advanced Research, Inc., a Silicon Valley-based firm that developed the Proteus for about $1.5 million.
The 100 ft (33 m) long and 50 ft (16 m) wide boat has metal and fabric pontoons with hinges and shock absorbers to flex with waves movement and reaches a maximum speed of 30 knots (34.5 mph or 55 km per hour).
The Proteus is not a luxury item; its crew cabin, hanging like a gondola from its four-legged superstructure, offers little comfort and space. But Proteus can be fitted with various types of detachable cabins that can accommodate anything from a couple to 12 tourists.
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