Damen Rolls Out Fast Crew Suppliers 2710 and 1204
Damen showed two new Fast Crew Supply vessels to the world for the first time on the 3rd of July at the 2018 Seawork International Exhibition and Conference, currently underway in Southampton, UK.
The FCS 2710 and FCS 1204 received their first public viewings and the naming ceremony for the FCS 2710 was also held on the opening day of the show.
The FCS 2710 is the successor vessel to the highly popular FCS 2610, which has sold over 40 vessels worldwide over the past seven years. The FCS 2710 retains the successful twin hull, axe bow design but is one metre longer and higher than its predecessor.
That, plus a complete redesign of the interior, allows it to carry twice the number of passengers as the FCS 2610 and enables it to deliver more flexibility, more tank capacity, greater deck space, increased comfort and more accommodation. The extra metre above the water also allows the vessel to operate in wave heights of above two metres. This substantially increases the range of weather conditions in which it can be at sea.
On the opening day of the show the first vessel of the new class, owned by High Speed Transfers Ltd, was officially named HST Hudson by managing director Tom Nevin’s young son of the same name.
A new entry into the offshore transfers sector based in Swansea, Wales, HST has been set up by three experienced operatives from the offshore industry. They see the FCS 2710 as an effective way to make an immediate impact by using a completely redesigned version of a vessel-type that is already well known in the market.
After the naming ceremony, Tom Nevin commented: “We’re so excited to launch this 2710. We think it’s going to be a game-changer in the industry, and we’re very proud to be operating the first one! Also I’d like to thank everyone who visited our vessel today and for all the kind words. My son Hudson who the vessel is named after will definitely remember this day for a long time. A huge thanks to my partners Christopher Monan and Ian Oxford, all the crew, and to Damen Sales Manager Arjen van Elk and the Damen team.”
Seawork 2018 also saw the first showing of the new Fast Crew Supplier 1204 FRP (fibre reinforced plastic). The 12-metre boat replaces a previous version of the same name to become the smallest model in the Damen FCS range.
As well as substituting the aluminium hull with a tough, lightweight FRP design, the new FCS 1204 is designed to be built using modular techniques. With hulls plus a full range of wheelhouse and accommodation options held permanently in stock, buyers can select the interior / exterior configuration they want, choose between shaft, waterjet and Z-drive propulsion options, and receive their vessel just 10 weeks later.
Capable of carrying up to 28 personnel at up to 30 knots, it has a range of 200 nm at top speed. This represents a substantial uplift in performance and capacity over its predecessor.
