Successful sea trials of Rodi Marine's newest crewboat the M/V Riley Claire have given Marine Jet Power a breakthrough in the fiercely competitive Gulf of Mexico crewboat market. The trial results show that all performance predictions were reached and the product is ideal for this application.

Four MJP 650 CSU waterjets power the new 175' (53.34m) DP2 Certified Crewboat built for Rodi Marine in Lafayette, LA by Swiftships LLC in Morgan City, LA. During sea trials in June, the M/V Riley Claire reached a top speed of 30.3 knots in lightship condition and 24.0 knots fully laden. The vessel's MJP waterjets are powered by four Cummins QSK 50 engines each producing 1800HP at 1900RPM and connected through Twin Disc MGX 6848 gearboxes at a 2.03:1 Ratio.

M/V Riley Claire, a USCG Subchapter T and ABS-classed all aluminum fast crew boat is 175' in length, has a beam of 25' and a molded depth of 13'6". While working in the Gulf of Mexico and servicing the Offshore Oil Market she carries a total of 34,500 gallons of diesel and 20,500 gallons of water for operating and an additional 6,700 gallons of diesel and 1,230 gallons of freshwater for the rigs. She is certified to carry 70 passengers and 10 crewmembers.

Riley Claire and her sister which will shortly be delivered to Rodi Marine will be the largest and fastest vessels in the seven vessel fleet and represent an important achievement for MJP as the first Dynamic Positioning 2 (DP2) rated vessels. They are the first vessels with MJP waterjets operating in the Gulf of Mexico. "We are starting to enter the Gulf market. We've wanted to be there for a long time," said Jordan Tilton of Marine Jet Power Inc.. The two vessels also marked a return to the commercial sector for Swiftships being the first vessels built after a five year period concentrating on military production.