Damen supports team AkzoNobel in the Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18

Damen Shipyards Group has announced its partnership with team AkzoNobel in the Volvo Ocean Race. The Dutch shipbuilding company has provided onshore workshop containers that act as mobile technical operations areas for the team’s supporting shore crews, enabling the team to achieve its aims. In this respect, the partnership was a natural choice for DAMEN that parallels the way in which the group works with its clients.

Damen Project Manager Olivier Stuip explains: “We saw an opportunity to support team AkzoNobel with the experience we have gained in providing services to our customers. DAMEN operates yards and Service Hubs all over the world, from which we assist our clients in keeping their vessels performing safely and optimally. Applying our understanding of logistics and partnering we have developed with the team a support package to assist them in their Volvo Ocean Race attempt.”

The Volvo Ocean Race is a gruelling round-the-world yacht race, held every three years. The 2017-18 edition started in Alicante, Spain on 22 October 2017. The course circumnavigates the world, crossing four oceans as the distance tally reaches more than 80,000 kilometres before finishing in The Hague, the Netherlands in June 2018.

A new name in the world of ocean yacht racing, team AkzoNobel is a Dutch team, skippered by double America’s Cup winner Simeon Tienpont. The team’s principal sponsor, AkzoNobel, is a leading global paints and performance coatings company and major producer of speciality chemicals, supplying essential ingredients, protection and colour to industries and consumers worldwide.

For the 2017-18 edition, DAMEN has supplied two workshop containers to team AkzoNobel. These will ‘leapfrog’ each other as the race progresses on its 11-leg course around the world, thus ensuring that the team will have workshop facilities available at all times.

“I have worked with workshop containers for other sailing teams in the America’s Cup, but this is something else,” states Bryce Ruthenberg, team AkzoNobel shore crew manager and reserve sailor. “It was new for DAMEN to outfit us for the Volvo Ocean Race, but they have taken things to a new level. They have been very cooperative and understanding – coming up with lot of professional advice and ideas.”

“We will use these DAMEN containers onshore as an efficient workshop for our team,” he says. “We strive to be 100% both on and off the water. And achieving 100% out of the water is going to help us win on the water. Teaming up with DAMEN and having a quality like this really fits in with our way of thinking.”

Mr Ruthenberg worked with DAMEN to coordinate the outfitting and delivery of the containers. “Coming from the yachting industry and seeing such a professional shipyard in production and working as it does is super impressive,” he says.

Damen called on its extensive network of suppliers, normally involved in the company’s shipbuilding operations, to supply the equipment for the two containers. These business partners included the following companies:

•    Den Breejen: painting
•    Franssen Groep: insulation
•    Caru: containers
•    Can der Peijl Techniek: tools and equipment
•    Pooters: delivery of marine panels
•    Eekels: electrical installation
•    De Ruijter: floor covering
•    Van Caetenburgh: graphic design
•    Esbi: decals

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.

Damen Shiprepair & Conversion (DSC) has a worldwide network of sixteen repair and conversion yards of which twelve are located in North West Europe. Facilities at the yards include more than 50 floating and (covered) drydocks, the largest of which is 420 x 90 metres, as well as slopes, ship lifts and indoor halls. Projects range from the smallest simple repairs through Class’ maintenance to complex refits and the complete conversion of large offshore structures. DSC completes around 1,350 repair and maintenance jobs annually, both at yards as well as in ports and during voyage.