New concept of solar- Powered catamaran fishing vessel

It has been considered that the availability of fossil fuels is getting rare and hence becoming more expensive. Its exploration has moved from onshore to offshore together with advanced technology involved thus causing higher cost to the fuels to be ready to use. This fact has caused (in particulars) the fishermen cannot afford to buy the fuel so that they are vulnerable to live in poverty. Recent survey shows that more than 50% of fishing boats, owned by traditional and low economic income of Indonesian fishermen, has been grounded. In addition, the use of fossil fuels has caused the increase of green house gas (GHG) effects thus its continuous use is not environmentally friendly. The current paper describes the development of catamaran fishing vessel as a part of academic contribution to help the Indonesian fishermen. Earlier work proposed the design of catamaran fishing (cat-fish) vessel using the conventional diesel engine, whilst the new design introduces the use of combination of diesel engine together with the use of solar power. Discussion includes the explanation of lay out arrangement, ship stability and seakeeping characteristics, and energy index due to the use of two power system. The later item has now become a serious matter under IMO (International Maritime Organization) regulation in order to reduce GHG effect. Economic review of the possible development of the novel concept is also taken into consideration because the investment cost of the solar powered boat is predicted to be more expensive than the diesel powered vessel but its operational cost is cheaper hence it is promising in long-term use.