Huh? What 's that Weird looking ship doing in Beruit...

Smash reports that the Navy is using a new type of ship to evacuate Americans from Lebanon. It is the HSV Swift.

But it's not new. It was used last year to bring supplies to the Tsunami victims.
It also ferried supplies during Hurricane Katrina.
LINK is a list of Navy ships that helped with Katrina...way to go guys...(sorry CNNI didn't notice you were there)

Awhile back (LINK ) I posted about a weird looking US ship that was bringing supplies to Zamboanga... that was the sister ship of the Swift, the HSV Joint Venture..

These Australian built ships are valuable for disaster relief is that they can travel in shallow water....Smash reports they can go 42 knots (48mph)...hence the name, HSV->High Speed Vessel.

Small versions of these, i.e. double canoe ships, have been around for centuries. But now they are being used not only by the Navy but also for ferries ...the link is to a French ferry that is essentially glass reinforced plastic...(the HSVSwift is aluminum)...



And for those of you who homeschool or need crafts for your cubscouts to make:

HERE is a link on how to make a Fast Raingutter Catamaran...