Damen Shipyards will soon deliver three tugboats to INEA (Instituto Nacional de los Espacios Acuaticos, the Venezuelan Aquatic Authority). This repeat-order follows a previous order for two Damen Stan Tugs purchased by INEA in 2009. The tugs will be used in the Venezuelan ports of Puerto Cabello and La Guaira, and are meant to give assistance to the ships entering and leaving the harbor.
The vessels, respectively a Stan Tug 2208 and a 2608 as well as an ASD Tug 2810, represent a varying range of bollard pull and speed, but all of them are built within the unique and proven DTC (Damen Technical Cooperation) concept. This concept enables customers to locally build the Damen vessel of their choice, according to their personal requirements. “We have built over 200 of these tugs in about 30 years”, reports sales director Americas Sander van Oord. “There is a huge accumulation of knowhow in their design, gained over time with the feedback of our customers. This may very well be the secret of their continuous success”.
The use of standardized components guarantees that the vessels live up to the same high Damen quality standards worldwide. From the Netherlands based headquarters in Gorinchem, containers holding a prefabricated shipbuilding kit can be sent to shipyards around the globe. In this particular case both the Stan Tugs were built in Cuba, at the Damex shipyard, ideally located in the natural bay of Santiago de Cuba. Damex is a license holder and an after-sales service location for Damen Shipyards. A building capacity for up to 100 m steel and aluminium vessels, repair facilities and special services for yachts make Damex one of the biggest employers in Santiago de Cuba.
The ASD Tug 2810 was built at Damen Shipyards Galati (Romania) and is currently underway to Venezuela. Its specific measures could not be met with at the Damex wharf. However, as Sander van Oord points out, Damex will shortly accommodate this type of ships too. A new slipway is under construction. In addition, the DTC concept is being carried out in Ecuador, Brazil, Mexico, the United States and Canada.