Damen Shipyard Group News

Energy and marine consultancy AqualisBraemar LOC Group has completed the acquisition of the UK operations of ship design and marine consultancy company OSD-IMT from Damen Shipyard Group.OSD-IMT is a specialist consultancy in ship design for new build, refit, and conversion projects. The company operates the renewables, maritime, defense, and offshore oil and gas sectors. In particular, the company specializes in newbuild construction, support, and supply vessels for the offshore energy industry…

Netherlands' short sea shipping firm JR Shipping has expanded its container feeder fleet by purchasing a vessel and entering into a new management contract.According to a press note from the Harlingen-based shipowner and manager, the two vessels were transferred to the shipping company. They will be registered under the flag of Madeira and sail under the names MV Expert and MV Energy. Confeeder Shipping & Chartering is responsible for the commercial management.The new management contract concerns MV Expert. She is an 800 TEU short-sea feeder and was built by Damen Shipyard Group in 2011. This vessel is specifically equipped for 45-feet containers and…

Damen Shipyard Group has opened its first-ever office in Helsinki, Finland as part of its new venture into building large vessels for the ro-pax, cruise and offshore markets.This follows the group’s entry last year into building large vessels for the RoPax, Cruise and Offshore markets via its new Romanian yard, Damen Shipyards Mangalia.Located in a recently renovated building in central Helsinki, the The office will augment and extend Damen’s engineering capability in this market segment.Finland was selected as the location because, along with Italy, Germany and France, it is one of the leading countries in the world in the design and build of cruise and RoPax vessels…

On July 27 DAMEN SeaXplorer marked a milestone in the construction of the SeaXplorer 77 expedition yacht at a keel laying ceremony at Damen Shipyards Galati on the banks of the Danube. The owner attended the ceremony and welded the traditional coin on the keel. Following the hull building phase, the 77-meter luxury expedition yacht (253 ft) will arrive at Damen’s Vlissingen East yard in the Netherlands for completion and on-schedule delivery in Q4 2020.The SeaXplorer 77 is a customized design from the DAMEN SeaXplorer range.

The world’s first Class approved 3D printed ship’s propeller, the WAAMpeller, has been unveiled following rigorous testing verified by Bureau Veritas at Damen Shipyard Group’s headquarters in the Netherlands. The groundbreaking propeller is the result of collaboration between RAMLAB, Promarin, Autodesk, Bureau Veritas and Damen, who started pooling collective resources and knowledge to develop the world’s first 3D printed ship’s propeller seven months ago. Promarin provided the design of the triple-blade propeller.

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) will sell the subsidiary of Mangalia Shipyard Romania to a Dutch builder Damen Shipyard Group, reported local media. Damen already owns in Romania a shipyard in Galati. Korea Economic Daily also said that Damen is in talks to purchase the local shipyard from South Korean group DSME. Quoting unnamed sources, the reports say that on June 20, DSME completed its final talk with the largest shipbuilder of the Netherlands, on the sale of Mangalia Shipyards. Established in 1997 with the Romanian government, the shipyard in Mangalia is owned as a 51:49  joint venture by Daewoo and the government. Daewoo has a 51% stake in it, and the Romanian state owns the remaining 49%.

Damen Shipyard Group’s Australian team has delivered two more industry briefings to potential suppliers from Australian industry ahead of its bid submission for the design and build of 12 offshore patrol vessels (OPV). Following February’s events held in Adelaide and Perth, Damen hosted a third in Brisbane on March 15 and a fourth two days later in Melbourne. The Damen group is one of three international shipbuilders shortlisted for the building of the 12 steel-hulled OPVs to replace Australia’s current fleet of Armidale Class patrol boats.

Damen Shipyards Group is constructing a Trailing Suction Hopper Dredger (TSHD) 650 for Australian client Gippsland Ports. The TSHD will be the first Damen dredger to operate in the country. The client will use the dredger to maintain entry to the port of Lakes Entrance and the Gippsland Lakes system, in Victoria, which is used by recreational, fishing and supply vessels. Currently, the client contracts a dredger annually to carry out the necessary dredging to maintain port access. However, after analysing the situation it became clear that there was a case for investing in their own vessel. Having their own dredger will, over time, reduce the maintenance costs and ensure year-round availability, for example in the event of weather related shoaling events.

The Royal Moroccan Navy has taken delivery of a Damen Stan Tug 2208. The 22-meter long vessel, named Al Mounkid, is the first tug to join Morocco’s sizeable naval fleet. The Royal Moroccan Navy has a fleet consisting of frigates, offshore patrol vessels, training vessels and hydrographic, amphibious and auxiliary vessels. Its fleet, however, did not include a tug of any sort. In the past, Morocco’s Navy has turned to third party tug operators for towing, moving and mooring services.

The Damen Shipyard Group’s man in Norway likes picking up the phone these days. With offshore markets in the doldrums, a unique phenomenon is occurring: “Norwegians are talking to me,” said Damen’s Norway sales boss, Remco Hottentot. Three years after opening shop in oil town Stavanger, Hottentot is expanding with a new Aalesund branch. From offshore supply and service to wind parks, fisheries and construction workboats, the Damen offices mark the existence in Norway of valuable alternate ‘value,’ also known as choice. We reach Mr. Hottentot during his whirlwind tour of arctic Norway.

Damen licenses another U.S. Robert E. Derecktor Inc. and Damen Shipyard Group have entered into a license agreement authorizing Derecktor to act as an official builder of Damen designs. The agreement will see Derecktor offer its customers pilot boats and wind farm support vessels combining the range and international experience of Damen designs with its own American craftsmanship, which Derecktor says creates an innovative, cost-effective experience for its customers, with proven performance and reliable U.S.-based support and maintenance.

Teekay Offshore Partners L.P. has entered into an agreement with a consortium led by Queiroz Galvão Exploração e Produção SA (QGEP) to provide a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) unit for the Atlanta field located in the Santos Basin offshore Brazil. In connection with the contract with QGEP, the partnership has agreed to acquire the Petrojarl I FPSO from Teekay Corporation for $57 million. Subsequent to the acquisition, the FPSO will undergo upgrades at the Damen Shipyard Group's DSR Schiedam Shipyard in the Netherlands for a fully built-up cost of approximately $240 million, which includes the cost of acquiring the Petrojarl I. The FPSO is scheduled to commence operations in the first half of 2016 under a five-year charter contract with QGEP.

Damen Shipyard Group’s new transshipment Crane Barge (CBa) 6324 has got off to a strong start, with an order for the first unit from a client in Uruguay. The barge features the proven Liebherr CBG 350 crane as standard and on this occasion has been outfitted with a unique mooring spread from Vryhof Anchors and Damen Anchor & Chain Factory (AKF). The fast delivery time for the CBa 6324 is the result of the characteristic Damen approach of customising  built-for-stock products to clients’requirements. The standardised 63 x 23.5 metre crane barge is available globally and designed to operate reliably almost anywhere in the world. It has the versatility to handle either dry bulk cargo or containers and can be outfitted with a self-propulsion system.

On March 20, 2014, Vietnamese Minister of Transport Nguyen Hong Truong, cut the ribbon for the latest addition to Damen Shipyard Group’s portfolio. Damen Song Cam is a new yard, and is one of the largest in the group and represents Damen’s first formal Joint Venture yard in Vietnam. Damen said Song Cam is considered state-of-the-art, bringing a western shipyard designed to meet European health, safety and environmental standards into a Vietnamese environment. The yard will produce around 40 ships per year in phase one.

On March 20, Vietnamese Minister of Transport Nguyen Hong Truong, carried out the official Vietnamese ribbon-cutting ceremony for the latest addition to Damen Shipyard Group’s portfolio. Damen Song Cam, a brand new yard, is one of the largest in the group and represents Damen’s first formal Joint Venture yard in Vietnam. Damen said Song Cam is considered state-of-the-art, bringing a western shipyard designed to meet European health, safety and environmental standards into a Vietnamese environment. The yard will produce around 40 ships annually in the first phase.

SMM is increasingly becoming a platform for the upmarket segment of super yachts. This area is presented at the SMM at Hamburg Trade Fair by shipyards, and all relevant equipment suppliers exhibit at the leading shipbuilding fair. For the first time this year there will be a special exhibition focus on super yachts in Hall 8. Over 1,600 companies from 50 countries will present the latest developments in all areas of the maritime sector at 22nd Shipbuilding, Machinery & Marine Technology, International Trade Fair Hamburg from September 26th-29th. Super yachts are generally not included in the tonnage statistics on ship deliveries or newbuilding orders, despite the fact that this segment has become increasingly significant year by year.

Aker Yards signed an agreement with Kleven Maritime to acquire Kleven Florø AS, and Kleven Design AS. Both entities are located in Florø, Norway. The acquisition strengthens Aker Yards' Merchant Vessels Business Area by adding a product range of highly specialized chemical tankers, meeting customer demand and new regulatory requirements. The previously announced joint venture with Damen Shipyard Group in Ukraine creates an opportunity for Aker Yards to develop a new highly competitive line of chemical carriers in combination with Kleven tanker know-how. Aker Yards has agreed to acquire Kleven Florø and Kleven Design at a price of $9.5m including debt, based on a working capital of zero.