HMAS Jervis Bay ( AKR 45 ) HMAS " Jervis Bay " ( AKR 45 ) was a wave piercing catamaran that operated in the Royal Australian Navy ( RAN ) Built by Incat in Tasmania and launched in 1997 as " Incat 045 " , the ship was chartered to TT - Line as " Tascat " to supplement cross - Bass Strait services until the company acquired new ships . The catamaran remained laid up until 1999 , when she was commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy as a troop and equipment transport , becoming the first large catamaran to enter naval service . " Jervis Bay " operated in support of the INTERFET peacekeeping taskforce until May 2001 , when she was decommissioned and returned to the builder . In 2002 , the ferry was sent to Europe , operating briefly in the Mediterranean before being chartered by Speed Ferries for a cross - English Channel ferry service as HSC " SpeedOne " . She is now owned by Condor Ferries and is named HSC " Condor Rapide " . Construction . The ship was laid down as " Incat 045 " in 1997 , at Incat ' s shipyards in Hobart , Tasmania . She was launched in November 1997 . The catamaran had not been ordered by any company . Four Ruston 20RK270 medium - speed diesels propel the catamaran at speeds of up to . Operational history . TT - Line . The ship ' s first period of service was on charter to TT - Line , for service between Melbourne , Victoria and Devonport , Tasmania . Named " Tascat " , the ship ran in conjunction with the first " Spirit of Tasmania " until the new ferries and entered service , at which point she was laid up . RAN . After an increase in instability in nations near Australia , the Australian Defence Force sought to upgrade a second brigade - size group to activation on short notice . Delays in refitting the two " Kanimbla " class vessels acquired from the United States Navy several years earlier meant that the RAN ' s sealift capability had to be supplemented in order to support two brigades . The RAN sought a large , high - speed catamaran from either Incat or Australian Ships ( later named Austal ) : both companies had vessels available , but only Incat was able to provide a ship before June 1999 . A two - year bareboat charter was signed for " Incat 045 " in May 1999 , and the vessel was commissioned into the RAN as HMAS " Jervis Bay " on 10 June 1999 . For military service , the catamaran was modified with enlarged fuel tanks to extend her range to and additional air conditioning units to improve equipment operational reliability in tropical climates . Sections of the vehicle deck were reinforced to support up to nine tons of weight per axle , allowing the vessel to transport most Australian Army vehicles . The catamaran ' s vehicle ramp was modified so it could be self - deployed , instead of requiring dock facilities . After modification , " Jervis Bay " could transport 500 troops , plus their equipment , supplies , and vehicles . In order to maintain a high operational tempo without personnel fatigue or burnout , two ships ' companies of 20 ( including 5 Army personnel responsible for the embarkment , storage , and disbarkment of Army personnel and equipment ) were established ; a practice later used by the RAN on patrol boats and survey ships . Because " Jervis Bay " was designed for short - haul voyages , crew and passenger facilities were limited : little potable water was carried , cooking facilities were minimal , and there were no sleeping facilities for the crew . Later modifications included the installation of additional water tanks , and the fitting of 20 bunks . Based in Darwin after commissioning , " Jervis Bay " was in a fortuitous position to respond to the 1999 East Timorese crisis , and was used to provide logistic support to the Australian - led INTERFET peacekeeping taskforce . The catamaran was the first RAN ship to reach Dili ; deploying Australian soldiers to secure the area . " Jervis Bay " was then used to transport soldiers and equipment between Darwin and Dili : she was capable of sailing the at an average speed of approximately , The catamaran was also used to transport humanitarian aid , and relocate displaced person s . During the two years of the ship ' s charter by the RAN , " Jervis Bay " made 107 trips between Darwin and East Timor , shipping 20 , 000 passengers , 430 vehicles and 5 , 600 tonnes of freight , becoming known as the " Dili Express " . The total cost of hiring " Jervis Bay " was A $ 16 million . In March 2010 , the ship was retroactively awarded the battle honour " East Timor 1999 - 2000 " . The successful use of a catamaran in military logistics operations led to the acquisition of three Incat catamarans by the United States military ( " Joint Venture " ( Incat 050 ) , " Spearhead " ( 060 ) , and " Swift " ( 061 ) ) and prompted the development of the " Independence " class littoral combat ship s as trimarans . Decommissioning and post - RAN operations . " Jervis Bay " was decommissioned on 11 May 2001 , and was not returned to Incat until 2002 , when she was chartered to Italian ferry company TRIS and named " Winner " . She operated between Genoa and Palau in Italy , until the company ' s collapse later that year . She was laid up again , until she was purchased by United Kingdom cross - channel operator SpeedFerries in 2004 and renamed HSC " SpeedOne " . On 26 March 2010 , it was announced that the ferry had been acquired by Condor Ferries , and would enter service in late May under the name " Condor Rapide " .