Very Slender Vessel


A Very Slender Vessel is a high-speed, wave-piercing craft. It is designed to give a comfortable ride over long, high-speed transits in high seas.
Normal boats travelling at high speed in rough seas can produce a very uncomfortable ride with g-force as high as 20g. Wave piercing vessels avoid this by travelling through waves instead of over them and can exceed.

Military

North Korea

It was revealed in 2015 that North Korea has under development a VSV attack boat, reported to be deployed on the western side of the Korean peninsula. These were first detected on trials by satellite surveillance late in 2014. The first images of the completed vessel were released by North Korean media in July 2018, after a visit to the Chongjin shipyard by leader Kim Jong-un.

Singapore

The Singapore Army operates VSV craft in special forces units. The craft are speculated to be replaced by new craft as of December 2018.

United Kingdom

VSV craft like the Royal Marine VSV are used by both the Royal Marines and Special Boat Service.