MARITIME students at Southampton Institute will soon have access to a new state-of-the-art training vessel.

An order has been placed with Millbrook-based BWSeaCat to build a power catamaran to replace the Institute's current training vessel - a 31ft motorboat. The Institute's School of Maritime and Coastal Studies, which has a 15-year history, is funding the project with a £100,000 grant designed to enable it to extend its sea-based facilities.

The as yet unnamed vessel, which will be in operation by Easter 2005, will be used across a number of maritime subject areas, allowing students to get hands-on experience.

Among other uses, the vessel will help teach navigation and surveying skills and will also be used as a science and engineering laboratory. The institute's professor, David Johnson, said: "This vessel represents the cutting edge of this type of twin hulled craft. Working boats of this type are quite a new concept and students will be able to take advantage of this facility, which will help prepare them for a variety of careers in the maritime world and its associated industries. The new vessel also offers increased scope for commercial contracts and consultancy work."

Iain Worrallo, Managing Director of BWSeaCat, comments: "Working closely with Golden Arrow Marine and Iguanas Naval Architecture Services and with direct input from the Institute's team at Seaworks, we have created a safe and practical platform for students.

"The vessel underlines the fact that Southampton Institute's maritime training is world class and at the forefront of technology."