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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

IX-532 Joint Venture (HSV-X1)

High-speed Catamaran:
  • Laid down, 19 January 1998, at Incat Tasmania Party Ltd, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
  • Launched, 7 November 1998
  • Delivered, 21 November 1998
  • Joint Venture was a joint-service experimental craft. Capabilities tested included speed, high payload fraction, longer and more useful ranges and the ability to tailor the payload for optimum mission success. The joint-service experiment was coordinated by the Navy Warfare Development Command in close partnership with elements of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. Joint Venture was homeported at Naval Amphibious Base, Little Creek, VA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 15 March 2004 and turned over to the US Army
  • Returned to Incat Tasmania Party Ltd, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia in the Autumn of 2006
  • Purchased, 19 May 2008, by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Co. and refitted for commercial service at Portsmouth, England
  • Placed in service, 22 May 2009, as Manannán mac Lir providing service between Douglas, Isle of Man and Liverpool, England
    Specifications:
    Displacement 940 t.(lt) 1668 t.(fl)
    Length 326'
    Beam 87'
    Draft 13'
    Complement 5 Officers, 25 Enlisted
    Propulsion diesel-powered, water jet catamaran
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    Joint Venture (IX-532)
    IX-532 39k Joint Venture (IX-532) prepares to get underway during local training exercises in the Arabian Gulf, 8 May 2002. Joint Venture, an experimental craft, was originally designed as a civilian car and passenger ferry. Currently, it is in the research and development stage to be used by the United States military as a rapid troop and equipment transport carrier. Joint Venture was on a scheduled six to twelve month deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
    US Navy # photo # 020508-N-6077T-001 PH1 (AW/SW) Kevin H. Tierney.    		 CHINFO web site
    IX-532 236k Joint Venture (IX-532) pulls into the port of Souda Bay, Crete, 3 April 2002. The 313 foot-long experimental craft is a wave-piercing catamaran capable of 45 knots and is currently being operated by joint U.S. Army and U.S. Navy personnel. Joint Venture’s naval employment includes replenishment and resupply at sea, special operations insertion and re-deployment, reconnaissance, command and control, anti-submarine warfare, mine warfare, humanitarian assistance/evacuation, surface warfare and force protection.
    US Navy by Paul Farley    		 Robert Hurst
    IX-532 565k Joint Venture (IX-532) moves through the waters off the coast of southern California, on 2 August 2002. Joint Venture is participating in Fleet Battle Experiment Juliet (FBE-J) as part of operations supporting Millennium Challenge 2002 (MC-02). MC-02 is the nation's premier joint integrating event, bringing together both live field exercises and computer simulations throughout the Department of Defense.
    US Navy photo by PH2 Frederick McCahan.    		 Robert Hurst
    IX-532 73k Joint Venture (IX-532) and the US Army's Spearhead (TSV-1X) pierside at Camp Patriot, Kuwait. Operation Enduring Freedom is the first time the craft have been deployed together in support of military operations
    US Navy photo # 030225-N-1050K-001 by JO1 Joseph Krypel.    		 US Navy Newsstand web site
    Commercial Service
    IX-532 76k Ex-Joint Venture (IX-532) at Incat Shipyard, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia undergoing preparation for US Army service, 20 September 2003. Joint Venture is moored stern to the building sheds where the ships are constructed undercover. Photo by Nick Jansen
    IX-532 62k Ex-Joint Venture (IX-532) at Incat Shipyard, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia undergoing preparation for US Army service, 20 September 2003. Photo by Nick Jansen
    IX-532 70k Ex-Joint Venture (IX-532) at Incat Shipyard, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia undergoing preparation for US Army service, 20 September 2003. Photo by Nick Jansen
    IX-532 66k Ex-Joint Venture (IX-532) at Incat Shipyard, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia undergoing preparation for US Army service, 20 September 2003. the bow of The Lynx, a commercial version of the High-speed Wave Piercing Vessel, and a close relative of Joint Venture can be seen in this photo. Photo by Nick Jansen
    IX-532 100k Ex-Joint Venture (IX-532), right, and US Army ex-Spearhead (TSV-1X), left, at Incat Shipyard, Hobart, Tasmania., Incat 060, ex-Spearhead has been sold to the Government of Trinidad and Tobago will be fitted out for civilian service and is to be renamed T & T Spirit. Incat 050 ex-Joint Venture appears to be idle. Photo by Glenn Towler
    IX-532 221k Ex-Joint Venture (IX-532) purchased by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company. She arrived in Douglas, 11 May 2009, after a major refit at Portsmouth, England. She was renamed after Manannán mac Lir, the Celtic god of the sea, and made her maiden service voyage with the Steam Packet Company on Friday 22 May 2009 with the 07:30 sailing from Douglas to Liverpool. Robert Hurst
    There is no DANFS history available for Joint Venture (IX-532) at NavSource
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 4 February 2011