Damen Services News

Two next-generation Damen ASD Tugs 2813 have been delivered to the Ghana Ports and Harbors Authority (GPHA).Commissioned during a ceremony on December 14, the newbuilds Capt. Edward A. A. Awuviri and Nestor Percy Galley—named after two former Director Generals—were built at Damen Shipyards’ dedicated tug building facility Damen Song Cam Shipyard in Vietnam.The vessels each deliver 83 tonnes bollard pull ahead and up to 77 tonnes astern, making them capable of maneuvering the range of large vessels that use the Ghanaian ports of Takoradi and Tema…

Damen Shipyards Group and Caterpillar have signed a global value agreement enabling Damen to provide bow-to-stern services and extend the scope of services offered to Damen Shipyard customers, including but not limited to fleet management and monitoring systems. Damen views the agreement as a milestone in their strategy to streamline services for their customers. The shipyards group’s philosophy of standardization is further improved with a comprehensive service program for Cat…

A platform supply vessel (PSV) owned and operated by Wilson Sons UltraTug Offshore has been converted to a shallow dive support vessel (SDSV) for a Petrobras job offshore Brazil.The vessel, Fulmar, needed an upgrade from DP1 to DP2 Class notation, and the work was completed in April by Wilson Sons Estaleiros in partnership with Damen at the Wilson Sons shipyards in Guarujá.Damen said it carried out quick scan and later a feasibility study for the project before Wilson Sons had been awarded the contract.Daniel Pereira, Maintenance Manager said, “The project was not without its challenges.

Damen Shipyards Group has signed a contract with Abu Dhabi Ports and its subsidiary Abu Dhabi Marine Services (Safeen) for the supply of two new Damen ASD Tugs 2411.The contract was signed by Captain Adil Ahmed Banihammad, the Acting Chief Marine Services Officer at Safeen, and Pascal Slingerland, Regional Sales Director for Damen Shipyards Group. Delivery of both vessels is due within three months.Abu Dhabi Ports owns and operates 11 ports and managing over 55,000 vessel calls each year. The ASD Tugs 2411 will bring additional vessel handling capabilities to the group. Examples of the class can be found operating all over the world and they are highly regarded for their excellent pulling power (70 tonnes)…

Two floating docks have completed their 26-day voyage across the North Atlantic to Damen Shiprepair Curaçao (DSCu) in the southern Caribbean.The larger of the two is a Panamax-class dock measuring 230 meters by 45 meters for tankers, containerships and other large vessels, while the smaller dock measures 108 meters by 23 meters for all kinds of tugs, workboats and offshore support and anchor handling vessels.The two docks were delivered by the heavy-lift carrier Xin Guang Hua to the Port of Willemstad, Curaçao on April 26, following a trip with more than its share of bad weather.

On Tuesday, July 11, Damen hosted a dredging seminar in Dhaka, Bangladesh attended by more than 100 representatives from the Dutch Embassy in Bangladesh, experts from the Bangladesh Government, the Bangladesh Navy, local financing institutions, various customers of Damen and other industry stakeholders. Damen said it has enjoyed great successes all over the world in the sale of its dredging equipment, including Trailing Suction Hopper Dredgers, Cutter Suction Dredgers and renowned DOP pumps.

Damen Shipyards Group recently visited Adelaide to further consolidate their partnership with ASC Shipbuilding and Forgacs Marine and Defence (Forgacs) (ASC Forgacs Shipbuilding) to build twelve Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV) for the Australian Navy and to explore domestic and export opportunities for both the commercial and naval markets. Roland Briene, Damen’s Area Director Asia Pacific, also highlighted two important milestones for Damen in Australia: the 5th anniversary of Damen’s Australian company, Damen Services Brisbane, and the intention to establish a second long-term service hub in support of the SEA 1180 program. Damen, as one of the three designers competing for the OPV program, is fully committed to consolidating their commitment to Australia.

Sydney City Marine has completed its first maintenance docking of a Damen vessel since the signing ofa Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Damen Shipyards Group last year. The works signify the successful cooperation between Damen Services in the Netherlands, the Damen Service Hub in Brisbane and Sydney City Marine. The vessel in question was the Svitzer Warang, a Damen ASD 2810 owned by global towage operator Svitzer. Sydney City Marinewascontracted by Svitzer to carry out a 5-year special survey on the vessel. The Svitzer Warangleft the yard just before Christmas 2016. “We performed a full-on scope of works on this tug,” explains Sydney City Marine Director Brenton Fischer. “This included all Lloyd’s Register requirements.

The 60-meter Royal Bahamas Defense Force Corvette HMBS Nassau (P-61) has arrived at Damen Maaskant Shipyards Stellendam in the Netherlands for an extensive refit. The 17-year old vessel will receive a comprehensive overhaul that comprises full systems and instrumentation replacement. The P-61 refit is part of the ‘Sandy Bottom Project’ contract between Damen Shipyards Group and the Royal Bahamas Defense Force that the two parties signed in 2014. This includes the delivery of nine Damen vessels…

At the end of June, two Damen ASD Tugs 2810 set sail from Damen Shipyards Galati in Romania to Puerto General de San Martin (Argentina) for towing, mooring, and fire-fighting operations in the Argentinian region around Rosario on the Paraná river. Built at Damen Galati Shipyards (Romania), the vessels will be delivered on time, having met the expectations of Cooperativa De Trabajos Portuarios Limitada de San Martín. This was a first-time order for the Argentinian company who also purchased a Cutter Suction Dredger 500 from Damen Dredging Equipment…

Damen Shipyards Group and Sydney City Marine have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) outlining the future cooperation of the two companies concerning the repair and maintenance of Damen-built vessels in Australia and New Zealand. The MOU lays the groundwork for expansion of Damen’s Services network in Australia. Detailing the future working relationship between the two companies, the MOU’s principle agreement states that Sydney City Marine will perform repair and maintenance works of Damen vessels.

Curacao Ports Authority NV ("CPA") signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Nederex BV. (Nederex) and B.V. Damen Shipyards Gorinchem (Damen) on the 30th of April. Damen Shipyards and Nederex are engaged in ship repair and the provision of maritime services. Last year CPA and Nederex signed a concession agreement with regard to the activities of Nederex within the St. Anna Bay, from an area which is managed by CPA. "This cooperation is an important step in the right direction," said Humberto de Castro, CPA's CEO. Damen is located in the Netherlands and operates 32 other ship and repair yards worldwide, with more than 9,000 people. Damen will offer its ship repair and marine services from Curacao and will work together with Nederex to exploit the concession granted by CPA to Nederex.

Damen Shipyards Group delivered two sister tugs ATD 2412 ‘ZP Bison’ and ‘ZP Bear’ to strengthen KOTUG’s European Harbour Towage. On April 8th 2015, the sister tugs were handed over by designer and builder Damen to her owner Elisabeth Ltd in order to operate for KOTUG. ZP Bison will operate in the Port of Bremerhaven and ZP Bear on the River Thames in London. Damen Services arranged the transport from Vietnam to Rotterdam, where they handed over the tugs in a turnkey operation. After their arrival the tugs have been equipped and prepared to commence their towage activities in Bremerhaven and on the River Thames from April 17th, 2015.

Promar Shipping Services has christened the first of two Damen PSV 3300 vessels built at Damen Shipyards Galaţi in Romania. The Mamola Reliance will operate on the West African oil and gas market. Following the official handover on February 23, the Mamola Reliance set sail for West Africa. En route she stopped off in Barcelona for her naming ceremony. The ceremony was attended by Promar’s CEO, Bertrand Prezioso, CFO, Olivier Utz and COO, Christophe Mansuy. Damen Sales Manager Andrea Trevisan also attended the ceremony.

The second of four Damen ASD Tugs 2810 for ARC Towage (Spain) has left for Trinidad. There, the Guapo Warrior will join the fleet of Joint Venture company ARC Towage, which will provide the gas terminal berthing services for a significant energy industry player in Trinidad and Tobago. The tugs have been and are being built at Damen Shipyards Galati (Romania) and will be delivered by Damen Services teams in Trinidad and Tobago before January 1, 2015. The vessels will provide towage services for escorting, berthing and un-berthing (large) LNG-vessels.

On July 31, 2013, ARC Towage signed four contracts at the Netherlands shipbuilder Damen Shipyards Group. The newbuilding contracts with ARC Towage are the result of a special joint venture set-up for the terminal berthing services for a significant energy industry player in Trinidad and Tobago. The first Damen ASD 2810, MV Kairi, left for Trinidad, while the second vessel will leave in two weeks. The last two tugs will arrive mid-December this year. The tugs are being built at Damen Shipyards Galati…

Iskes Towage & Salvage signed an agreement with VSTEP for the delivery of two NAUTIS Tug and Offshore Supply Vessel (OSV) simulators. These simulators are the first units purchased for the new Iskes / Damen Training Center, set up in the new office building of Iskes at the port entrance to the ports of the Amsterdam Northsea canal area, close to Schiphol Airport. VSTEP will initially provide a 360-degree NAUTIS Full Mission Tug Simulator and a 240-degree NAUTIS Desktop Trainer to the Iskes/Damen Training Center.

Damen Shiprepair Brest (France) returned the Ultra Large Crude Carrier (ULCC) TI Europe to its owners EURONAV (Belgium) after completing a full technical survey and service. The sheer size of the vessel represents a considerable challenge in itself, he says, with the shipyard applying more than 46,000 square meters of silicon paint. However, the yard can comfortably accommodate such vessels given that its largest drydock, at 420 x 80 meters, is one of the biggest in Europe. damen.com

The Asymbolickeel-laying ceremony on the April 17, 2013 in Gorinchem, The Netherlands, officially launched the construction phase of 14 Damen ASD Tugs for Kuwait Oil Company (KOC). The series consist of two types, being nine tugs of Damen’s recently launched 3212 model and five units of the 810 design, with 80 and 50 tons of bollard pull respectively. At the festive launching ceremony Damen was host to a delegation of Kuwait Oil Company. The two company-logos were welded together as a palpable symbol for the substantial project and the companies’ longstanding relation. The object will hold a place of honor in Damen’s Romania-based Galati shipyard during the construction period. All 14 units will be build there starting shortly, with deliveries scheduled from 2014 onwards.

The Gorinchem Ferry Service & Damen Shipyards Group collaborate to install a modular pontoon with a jetty for the bunker station. “What started as a mooring pontoon with a small gas oil tank for the ferry service has expanded into a complete bunker station”, says Jeroen van Woerkum, Sales Manager Benelux. The work involved designing, building and installing a modular pontoon, jetty, together with supplementary activities for the bunker station along Buiten de Waterpoort in Gorinchem. That location now provides storage for 15,000 litres of gas oil, divided between two tanks.

Kotug  International will shortly be putting two new Damen Azimuth Tractor Drive Tugs 2412 into operation into the German Port of Hamburg. These tugs were ordered by Elisabeth Ltd in Malta and are being chartered by the Kotug  Group. Kotug  is a fast growing towage company expanding its innovative services to ports and terminals in Europe (Rotterdam, Hamburg, Bremerhaven), West-Africa and Australia. Recently Kotug  started towage activities in the new German deep sea port Wilhelmshaven.

The Stan patrol boats were ordered by the Albanian Ministry of Defence. Their main purpose is to execute patrol duties and Search and Rescue missions in  territorial waters. The project included extensive knowledge transfer and the reconstruction of a naval shipyard. The first ship of the Stan Patrol 4207 project was built in the Netherlands and delivered to the Albanian Coast Guard in August 2008. The project also included the thorough reconstruction of the Vlorë Naval Shipyard and the building of a new assembly hall, in which vessels as large as 60 meters can be constructed.

Mr Maarten Jongen has officially been appointed Managing Director of Damen Shipyards Singapore (DSSi) from March 2012. In his new role Mr Jongen will focus on marketing, services and further improving efficiency at the yard that has been building (aluminium) Damen vessels since 2000. DSSi has been part of the Damen Shipyards Group since 2000. Mr Jongen originally joined Damen in 2002 straight from Delft University of Technology (The Netherlands) where he studied Naval Architecture and Marine Technology.