New Damen vessels in aquaculture
Damen’s latest venture in to the world of fish farming has proven fruitful with a new series of landing utility vessels.
The purely UK-built vessels are constructed in tandem with Exeter-based Coastal Workboats and so far two of a series of seven have been sold, one to Organic Sea Harvest in Skye and one to Kames Fish Farming in Oban.
Operations are set to move nearer to Scotland, the UK’s hub for aquaculture, with this expected to take around two years to achieve.
“We want to be close to the market,” Mike Besijn, sales manager for Damen Shipyards, told Maritime Journal, adding that Coastal Workboats would also move its Damen-related operations north.
At present Damen’s interest in aquaculture is UK based, but the global market is in its sights.
”I’d love it if we could build in the UK then export to other countries,” said Besijn.
Originally designed at 19 metres in length (pictured at this year’s Seawork), the current series has been extended a further three metres and there are ambitions to build up to 40 metres.
The 2208 model has two Volvo diesel engines but Damen reports plenty of interest in more sustainable propulsion.
“We get queries for hybrid, fully electric and hydrogen fuel systems,” said Besijn. “But the market is not yet ready for full sustainability.”
The vessels can be tailored to individual customer requirements, such as changing the crane and adding accommodation. There are highly manoeuvrable and stable sturdy, thick bottom plates and unique polymer fenders instead of the usual tyres that can be easily ripped off.
