After a long and intensive tender process, Netherlands-based boatbuilder Stormer Marine has won a 20 boat order for the Dutch Police in the IPC-category.
The aluminium-hulled boats will replace the present craft that served the Police up till now. Earlier in 2016 Stormer Marine won the only other European public tender for this category of workboats in the Netherlands. That makes a 100% score out of two tenders, illustrating the ongoing success of Stormer Marine in the professional market. Not only in its homeland, but worldwide.
The new Police boats are all based on Stormer’s Rescue series and vary in length from 5.3 to 7 metres. Stormer will customise the boats for the places where they will operate. Among the adjustments are Ullman suspension seats, a special bow fender from Fender Innovation, searchlights in the bow and a side door for MOB recovery.
Depending on the size of the Rescue boat, the crafts are powered by 175, 225 or 300hp Mercury Verado outboard engines. Stormer is currently building the first seven boats. In December the first boat was delivered to the northern Dutch city of Sneek. In February and March 2017 the other six of this first batch will be delivered elsewhere in the Netherlands.
“Long, demanding and intensive”, is how Stormer’s proud co-founder and owner Richard Gramser describes the tender process: “We signed up for the European tender to build the new Dutch police boats and knew it would be difficult to win. The price counted for 30% in the tender. There was a big list of demands that counted for the remaining 70%. Things like speed, navigation quality, ergonomic aspects for the crew, range and robustness. But we passed the first round and reached the shortlist of three, which meant that we had to build a testboat. And suddenly, after the Police tested all competitors’ boats, it happened that we were the winner!”
Stormer Marine builds polyester boats as well, but is especially famous for its strong 100% seawater resistant aluminium hulls. Without any doubt, for the Police at least the aluminium hull of the Rescue series played a big role in choosing Stormer. Gerben Kooistra of the Dutch Police said: “Aluminium is much more robust. Our polyester boats often had to be repaired. With aluminium boats we will have less trouble with stones and we can get closer to a fire.”
Stormer has also built four Patrol 85 workboats for OFGV in Flevoland, from a tender also won in 2016. Winning the only two public tenders in this category points again at the ongoing success of the workboat manufacturer in Amsterdam. And the growing sales are not limited to Stormer’s homemarket. Stormer workboats are already sold in Canada, the Middle-East, Africa, Vietnam, the Canary Islands and many other European countries.
Visit Stormer Marine BV at Seawork International 2017 on stand VA34.
By Jake Frith
