The Blyth 18m catamaran is our new flagship and builds on the considerable experience and proven success that the company has gained over the last 25 years. This vessel was build for the Department of Bio-sciences at Swansea University.

Mary Anning is our latest and one of our great examples of this mighty catamaran. It has been Christened Mary Anning after the nineteenth century English fossil hunter and palaeontologist. She features an overall beam of 6m, draws 1.3m, displaces 32 tonnes and has been coded by the UK Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) to accommodate up to 26 ‘passengers’.

On-board facilities for her scientist/student complement include a wet lab with stainless steel benches and clean water on tap. Two cabins are present: the fore cabin features a large dinette and mess and is primarily provided for the crew’s relaxation; the mid cabin, meanwhile, houses the scientific computers with a station for two scientists. Blyth Catamarans adds: ”All data outputs can be viewed on large screens throughout the vessel, including the aft deck.”

This vessel carries an impressive array of equipment, including:

• Two trawl winches
• Moon pool with multi-beam deployment which can house a Kongsberg M3 sonar
• 2 tonne hydraulic A frame
• Diver lift
• Pot hauler to the foredeck
• Two further hydraulic winches
• Bow fender for turbine transfers, and
• a raised helm, providing 360° visibility, featuring a marine mammal observation platform directly above.

Mary Anning was constructed using Lloyd’s Register rules for a G2A operation and has been dual-coded for both Cat II and MCA Passenger Class VI rules.