German Federal Office for Agriculture and Food awards Damen Fisheries Research Vessel contract

The German Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung, BLE) has signed a contract with DAMEN Shipyards Group for the construction of a Fisheries Research Vessel, the company said in its press release. The contract followed the successful result of a European tendering process, realized by the Federal Waterways Engineering and Research Institute (Bundesanstalt für Wasserbau, BAW). With the vessel, to be called the Walther Herwig, the German Federal Ministry for Food and Agriculture (BMEL) will support Germany’s fisheries and oceanographic research programmes. To this end, DAMEN will construct the Walther Herwig to the highest levels of scientific and environmental standards.

Measuring 85 x 17,40 metres, the Walther Herwig will be the largest vessel in the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture’s fleet. Such dimensions will allow for accommodation for 26 crew and 26 scientists.

In terms of scientific facilities and equipment, the vessel will be outfitted with two hangars, wet and dry laboratory areas and trawling gear for both demersal and pelagic fisheries research. For physical and biological oceanographic studies, the vessel’s scientific teams will be able to utilise winches capable of relaying equipment to depths of up to 6,000 metres.

Talking at this morning’s contract signing ceremony at the BLE office in Hamburg, DAMEN Commercial Director North, West & South Europe Frank de Lange commented: “We are proud to have been awarded this prestigious contract for such an advanced research vessel. We are looking forward to continuing our close cooperation with representatives from the German Federal Office for Agriculture and Food during the construction process.”

The Walther Herwig will be built at DAMEN Shipyards Galati in Romania to a design that has been finalised in cooperation with Norwegian ship designers Skipsteknisk. The expected delivery is January 2020.

Damen Shipyards Group
Damen Shipyards Group operates 33 shipbuilding and repair yards, employing 9,000 people worldwide. DAMEN has delivered more than 6,000 vessels in more than 100 countries and delivers some 180 vessels annually to customers worldwide. Based on its unique, standardised ship-design concept DAMEN is able to guarantee consistent quality.

Damen’s focus on standardisation, modular construction and keeping vessels in stock leads to short delivery times, low ‘total cost of ownership’, high resale values and reliable performance. Furthermore, DAMEN vessels are based on thorough R&D and proven technology.

Damen offers a wide range of products, including tugs, workboats, naval and patrol vessels, high speed craft, cargo vessels, dredgers, vessels for the offshore industry, ferries, pontoons and superyachts.

For nearly all vessel types DAMEN offers a broad range of services, including maintenance, spare parts delivery, training and the transfer of (shipbuilding) know-how. DAMEN also offers a variety of marine components, such as nozzles, rudders, anchors, anchor chains and steel works.

In addition to ship design and shipbuilding, DAMEN Shiprepair & Conversion has a worldwide network of 16 repair and conversion yards with dry docks ranging up to 420 x 80 metres. Conversion projects range from adapting vessels to today’s requirements and regulations to the complete conversion of large offshore structures. DSC completes around 1,500 repair and maintenance jobs annually.