Norman R Wright & Sons

Island Guardian is a custom-designed and built 20 Metre High Speed Landing Craft built for the Great Barrier Reef Joint Field Management Program.

The vessel is a multi-purpose platform designed to perform a range of tasks including patrol operations, dive support operations, marine infrastructure installation and maintenance (eg moorings and signs), and island park management (camp grounds, walking tracks, weed management).

A key capability is a 7-tonne capacity cargo deck with the ability to load and unload 4WD vehicles, side by side vehicles, small excavators, posi-track machines, small tractors from boat ramps and beaches of varying gradients in challenging sea conditions.

Design was by Incat Crowther and features a wave piercing hull design, propeller tunnels to achieve low draft, and a forward nacelle to combat heavy sea states associated with prevalent south-east trade winds.

The vessel is required to operate independently for up to 10 days away from port in remote offshore reef areas with up to 7 persons onboard, and has a range of 500 nautical miles. Day trips can accommodate up to 24 persons.

This is Norman R. Wright & Sons’ third alloy catamaran vessel delivered for the Program in the last 4 years, with previous vessels being the 24m Patrol Vessel Reef Resilience and the 17m Patrol Vessel Tamoya.