High-Speed Craft (HSC)

A high-speed craft (HSC) is a vessel that IMO defines as one capable of a maximum speed in meters per second equal to or above 3.7 times the volume of displacement in cubic meters raised to the one-sixth power, a volumetric Froude-number test. The 1994 HSC Code, made mandatory by SOLAS Chapter X for craft built on or after 1 January 1996, and the HSC Code 2000 (resolution MSC.97(73)) set a separate safety regime for these craft, recognizing that catamaran ferries, hydrofoils, and surface-effect ships cannot meet conventional damage-stability and fire rules. The Code trades reduced subdivision for fast evacuation, restricted routes, and operator and base-port control.