HSC Dublin Swift

HSC Dublin Swift is a high-speed catamaran built in 2001 by Austal Ltd. of Henderson, Western Australia as a passenger and vehicle catamaran ferry. After conversion to a Maritime Prepositioning ship the vessel was chartered by the United States Marine Corps Military Sealift Command (MSC), until January 2018 as Westpac Express.

Irish ship owner and operator Irish Continental Group (ICG) purchased the ship in 2016. After the end of her military charter in 2018 Westpac Express was converted for civilian use as a passenger ferry by ICG's ferry operator subsidiary Irish Ferries at Harland & Wolff in Belfast. . She was given the name Dublin Swift.

History
In 2002, the ship provided logistics support during "Exercise Cobra Gold 2002" joint exercise with the Thai and Singaporean armed forces.

Austal Hull 130 Chartering was awarded a $13,395,944 firm-fixed-priced contract commencing in February 2007, with four one-year additional options to September 2011.

With a design based on the Westpac Express, Austal USA won the bidding for the Joint High Speed Vessel in November 2008 and will build one ship with an option for nine more. The new vessel will have an increased top speed of at least 35 and up to 45 kn and up to ten ships will eventually be used by the United States Navy, the United States Marine Corps and the United States Coast Guard.

In March 2011, the Westpac Express was deployed as part of the US response to the Japanese earthquake and tsunami. In recognition of this service MSC Admiral Buzby presented the ship’s crew with United States Merchant Marine Medals for Outstanding Achievement at a ceremony on board the ship in Yokohama, Japan.

In December 2011, the Westpac Express was re-chartered with the United States Navy’s Military Sealift Command.

The contract was renewed in October 2014 for operational support of the III Marine Expeditionary Force in the Far East, until the end of 2017.

In April 2016 Westpac Express was sold to Irish Continental Group for €13.25 million, who continued to contract it out to Military Sealift Command until the end of 2017.

In January 2018, with its charter to the US Navy completed, it was announced that the Westpac Express would replace the HSC Jonathan Swift as a commercial passenger ferry on Irish Ferries' Holyhead to Dublin route.

On the afternoon of 14 January 2018, Westpac Express arrived in Northern Ireland drydocking at Belfast's Harland & Wolff shipyard for refurbishment and conversion to civilian use.