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And while the ship did not encounter any pirates, the crew piloting the vessel was not taking any chances.

According to a company news release, the Norman Arrow boosted its speed from cruising speed to 30 knots-high speed, but not maximum speed for the most dangerous sections off the Somali coast; the crew also secured the crew cabin, posted extra lookouts and gave small boats a wide berth. If the crew encountered pirate attack, said Captain Guy South, the plan was this: “All the crew would go to the electronics room, the fourth engine would be run up and we’d run away.”

Photo: Incat

While the crew of the Norman Arrow didn’t see any pirates, it was reported that a ship sailing about four hours ahead on the same route was attacked with rocket propelled grenades.

The crew also observed about half a dozen warships in the area, most likely belonging to the multinational Combined Task Force 151 operating in the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of Somalia.

Incat, which manufactures high-speed car ferries, has also seen a significant amount of interest in its ships for military missions. In recent years, the U.S. military has experimented with a number of high-speed ships; the HSV-X1 Joint Venture and the HSV-2 Swift, both manufactured by Incat, have already been used to support logistics operations in the Horn of Africa, the Persian Gulf and Southeast Asia. The Swift also took part in relief operations in Indonesia and in the Gulf Coast region following hurricane Katrina.

The Norman Arrow spent three weeks travelling from Tasmania and docked at the Port of Dover just after 6.30pm today (26 May).

LD Lines will use the Incat 367ft (112m) vessel, the world's largest diesel-powered catamaran, on the less dangerous waters of the English Channel between Dover and Boulogne from 6 June.