wath International Limited is a naval architecture and engineering company founded in 1990 to exploit for commercial applications the extensive, largely naval SWATH ship technology and design experience then existing. Company personnel have extensive experience in the design and production of vessels embodying SWATH technology. Several SI engineers were active participants in the U.S. Navy's SWATH ship development efforts which led to the T-AGOS 19 class ocean surveillance ships and the T-AGOS 23.

SWATH vessels that have been designed and model tested by SI range from the 4000 Class diesel-powered ferry (up to 449 passengers) to the gas turbine powered Super Regency (250 cars/ 876 passengers, 36 knots). In general, design development is controlled within SI. Vessel construction is licensed to selected yards which are responsible for material and parts purchasing as well as construction. The first SI design to be built is a Super 4000 Class passenger ferry, Cloud X, which has an aluminum hull and deckhouse. It can carry up to 550 passengers at a speed of about 26 knots.

Note: Swath is no longer located in Beltsville, Maryland.

The company's main office is in Beltsville, Maryland, near Washington, D.C. This is also the mailing address for SI's parent company, Swath Europe Limited, which is a U.S. registered company. The Beltsville office houses SI's Design Group, which has responsibility for all design and engineering, and Project Management, with responsibility for individual build projects, including quality control and documentation. Our marketing and support staff are also located in Beltsville. The office is well equipped with a network of computers, peripherals, and analysis software including:

• Proprietary computer programs to predict SWATH ship resistance and seakeeping behavior

• 3D Nurb Surface Geometry  and Hullform Modeling software

• A suite of programs for intact and damaged stability analyses

• Commercial Finite element analysis code for structural analyses

• Cad/Cam Software for general arrangements,  engineering drawings and design

• Specialist expertise is contracted for propulsor design, noise and vibration mitigation, and interior design support.

During 1996 - 1998 Swath International acted as the design agent for Swath Europe in carrying out work on a federal MARITECH Program cost-sharing grant to investigate a novel optimization approach to developing light-weight structures for SWATH ferries. The other participants in this study were Altair Engineering, in Troy, MI, and Bollinger Shipyards, in Louisiana. The MARITECH study focused on SI's Super 4000 ferry design. <More Info on Maritech>.

Swath International continues to expand and develop it's SWATH design capabilities, including new developments in areas of structural design,  hullform selection, increased speed/power, and most recently Tri-hull Swath applications.