Fintry Marine Design AG (Wil, Switzerland) and Kockums AB (Malmö, Switzerland), part of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS), have reached an agreement to cooperate in the marketing, design and construction of fast ferry, work and pilot boats built with a carbon fiber-reinforced sandwich structure. Under the agreement, Kockums will build Fintry CarboCAT vessels, which are said to be up to 30 percent lighter than aluminum and stronger than either aluminum or steel. Fuel savings are expected to exceed 20 percent. In addition to the savings in fuel use and maintenance costs these lighter vessels reportedly will require smaller engines to achieve performance equivalent to similarly sized builds in aluminum, thus limiting the watercraft’s environmental footprint.