Damen multicat re-named after industry veteran at Seawork

Tom Scruby, now 93, joined TMS when it turned over just £300,000 a year, he told Maritime Journal, years before the company was officially incorporated as Teignmouth Maritime Services Ltd in 2002. He was invited to the christening but had no idea the vessel was going to be named after him.

Scruby has remained a director of the company ever since, saying its success is how it has always treated its people.

The Damen Multicat 2622 is several years old but was bought by Marine Plant Hire, a sister company of TMS, which along with Red7Marine and Hesselberg Erosion Protection belongs under the Ancora Group umbrella.

Damen’s Multicat 2611 is a compact, multi-role workboat designed primarily for marine civils, dredging support, towage and offshore construction tasks. Built for operations in shallow and confined waters, the vessel combines towing capability with deck handling and lifting functions in a relatively compact platform. Damen describes the type as suitable for anchor handling, dredger support, towing, buoy handling, hose work and general marine construction support.

The design measures 26m overall length with an 11.5m beam and a draught of around 2.4–2.5m, making it suitable for nearshore and coastal operations where manoeuvrability and shallow-water access are required. Typical propulsion consists of three Caterpillar main engines driving triple fixed-pitch propellers, delivering around 1,900kW installed power, a service speed of approximately 10 knots, and bollard pull of up to 35 tonnes, depending on configuration. 

A key feature of the Multicat 2611 is its spacious heavy-duty working deck and deck equipment. Damen examples are commonly fitted with anchor-handling and towing winches, towing pins, tugger winches and deck cranes for lifting anchors, dredge hoses and marine equipment. Some vessels are equipped with twin knuckleboom cranes, while a 200kW bow thruster assists manoeuvrability during close-quarters work.

Scruby believes people are the main constituent of a company, and with the vessel naming he appears to still be at the heart of his.