The latest look at news from Damen Shipyards has seen orders and deliveries covering no fewer than eleven vessels.
Before we look in detail, a summary of activity involves three ASD 2810s, one ASD 2913, one Stan Tug 1907, one Stan Tug 1606, four Stan Tug 3711s and a Shoalbuster 2709.
Looking first at deliveries, two ASD Tug 2810s Estibador 1 and Estibador 2 recently set sail from Damen’s Galati shipyard to Puerto General de San Martin in Argentina for Cooperativa De Trabajos Portuarios Limitada de San Martin.
The pair will carry out towing, mooring and fire-fighting operations around Rosario on the Paraná River. It is the first Damen order for the Argentinian company, the contract also including a Cutter Suction Dredger 500 from Damen Dredging Equipment, delivered by cargo vessel.
Damen is hoping to establish a lasting relationship with Cooperativa with the possibility of providing more vessels in the future, built either locally or at its own shipyards. The pair have fifi1 capability and are powered by Rolls-Royce thrusters delivering 60.2tbp and speed 13kn.
The second delivery to report is the Stan Tug 1907 Alexandra for Port Fleet 99 EOOD of Bulgaria. The tug is classed by BV with notation I+HULL *MACH Tug Coastal Area, configured for towing, pushing, mooring and fire-fighting operations.
Power is via two Caterpillar C32 TTA ACERT/A main engines developing in total 1,492bkW (2,000bhp) and driving Kaplan II fixed-pitch propellers in Van de Giessen Optima nozzles via Reintjes WAF 562L 5.947:1 gearboxes. Performance figures are 28.5tbp and speed 11.7kn. A DMT electric towing winch is installed aft along with a Mampaey disc type towing hook (SWL 450kN) and accommodation is provided for four persons in two double cabins.
Moving on to news of orders, perhaps the most interesting is that for four Stan Tug 3711s negotiated from its new offices in Houston Texas, the first order headed by senior managers Jan van Hogerwou (New Construction) and Ruud Haneveer (Ship Repair & Conversion).
The 6,000hp tugs are at the top end of the Stan Tug range and will be supplied to Young Brothers Ltd, Hawaii’s largest inter-island cargo service provider. Young Brothers is operated by Foss Maritime and the vessels will be built at Conrad Shipyard, Louisiana under license and materials agreements with Damen. The first in the series is due for delivery in Q1 2018 with final delivery 12 months later.
Moving to orders from European owners, Livorno-based Fratelli Neri S.p.A. has signed an order for an ASD Tug 2913 and a Stan Tug 1606; the deal also including a Stan Launch 1305 for subsidiary company Labromare. All three will operate in and around Livorno with deliveries due before the end of 2016.
Fratelli Neri is a regular customer for Damen, this latest order taking the number of new vessels in the past year to six. In January Damen Maaskant Shipyards delivered the ASD Tug 3213 Luisa Neri (Neri’s first newbuild Damen tug and first ASD tug in the Mediterranean with a render-recovery winch). Earlier Neri purchased two used Stan Tug 2608s from Damen Trading.
The latest tugs are allocated from stock, the ASD Tug 2913 from Damen’s Galati facility, the Stan Tug 1606 from Gorinchem. Modifications to the former include fifi1, oil recovery capability and an aft bridge. The latter also includes fire-fighting apparatus along with an aft towing winch and both tugs meeting Italian flag standards.
Still in Italy, Rimorchiatori Augusta is a new venture for Rimorchiatori Riuniti formed following purchase by Riuniti of Augustea Imprese Maritime and Salvataggi S.p.A. and its fleet of 16 vessels. Towage services are provided at Augusta, Siracusa, Santa Panagia, Catania and Pozzallo and the new venture has ordered its first newbuild vessel, a Damen ASD Tug 2810. It will operate around the port of Augusta which as well as handling cargo and passenger services is also one of the Mediterranean’s main oil hubs serving a number of refineries. The tug is a product of Damen’s Song Cam Shipyard in Vietnam and will provide a 60 tonne bollard pull, fifi1 capability, upgraded towing hooks and modifications to meet Italian flag requirements.
Like Neri, Rimorchiatori Riuniti are regular customers of Damen, recent orders including two ASD Tug 2913s and an ASD Tug 2411 and this latest order will be the sixth vessel to join Rimorchiatori Riuniti’s fleet.
Finally, we return to Damen’s home of The Netherlands for a local item of news illustrating the involvement of customers at a personal level with an interesting background to the order for a tug.
A contract was signed between Damen and Willem-Harm Mastenbroek, owner and managing director of Wijk bij Duurstede-based V.O.F. Sleepboot ISA for a new Damen Shoalbuster 2709 to replace an existing anchor-handling tug. The shallow-draught tug will have a bollard pull of 41 tonnes and deck equipment includes an anchor-handling and tugger winch and an AKC knuckle-boom crane.
Mr Mastenbroek has experience with Shoalbusters stating: "My experience with Damen vessels dates back to my first employer … Ever since then I have looked forward to owning my own Damen ship. When we began looking for a replacement for our previous tug in June this year we looked at several options, but when I met with Jos van Woerkum again he told me about the Damen Shoalbuster 2709 which Damen had in stock. I knew from my previous experience that Damen builds very good vessels that keep their value for a long period of time. Damen also has a track record of creating all-round workboats which makes them very cost efficient. Now that we have the ship that I always wanted, she will be deployed on a worldwide basis, as we did with our previous vessel."
By Peter Barker
