Damens Shoalbuster 2711 at Seawork 2019
Damen Shipyards Group has announced that it will be presenting its new design of Shoalbuster to the maritime market during the upcoming Seawork Marine and Workboat Exhibition in Southampton next week. Damen has developed the new 27 meter long, 11 meter wide vessel in response to recent Maritime Labor Convention (MLC) changes concerning crew accommodation capacity.
Damen introduced the first Shoalbuster 25 years ago with a view to combine the bollard pull of a Tug with the shallow draught of a Multi Cat. While the owners of the first few vessels operated in the dredging industry, the benefits of its design were quickly seen by companies working on all sorts of harbor, coastal area and shallow water contracts. The range of Damen Shoalbusters gained a reputation for being the Swiss Army knife of workboats, capable of a vast range of tasks with a wide variety of optional on-board equipment. Moreover, the Shoalbuster is classified for unrestricted navigation, enabling clients to operate on a truly global scale.
A important fact for maritime operators is that, over the previous quarter century, Damen has continuously fine-tuned the Shoalbuster’s design in response to market requirements and regulations. This has resulted in the Pushbuster, the Renewables Services Vessel and a specialized shallow draught version, to mention a few examples.
Multiple benefits of increased width
The new Shoalbuster (SBu) 2711 represents this another step in this evolution of design; this time to offer operators a means to comply with new MLC regulations that stipulate increased accommodation capacity. By increasing the width of the SBu 2709 (with accommodation for six people) by two meters, Damen has achieved accommodation for seven people with the new vessel.
The accommodation capacity is not the only technical specification to have changed. The increased width has also resulted in increased stability.
A real show model
Damen intends to utilize its building-for-stock approach for this new model of Shoalbuster, a strategy that will assure buyers of a swift delivery time.
Fresh from the successful completion of sea trials, the new SBu 2711 is currently making her way to Southampton, UK for this year’s edition of Seawork.