Damen Shipyards Group will be present at the fourth annual US Offshore Wind 2019 Conference and Exhibition on 10-11 June 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. Damen’s attendance reflects the company’s belief in the enormous potential of offshore wind in North America, the company said in its release.
Damen has been an active player in the European offshore wind industry since its beginnings around a decade ago. Since then the company has built up a diverse portfolio of successful designs that can be deployed throughout the lifecycle of an offshore wind farm.
“Importantly, these designs are proven solutions,” says Damen Director Business Development & Market Intelligence David Stibbe. Examples of successful Damen vessels can be seen throughout the European offshore wind industry. “These include vessels specifically designed for construction, installation, and cable-lay operations, in addition to crew transfer and operations and maintenance.”
Relevant Damen vessels for the North American market include 27-metre and 34-metre long versions of the Fast Crew Supplier (FCS) and the Accommodation Support Vessel (ASV) 9020. The FCS 2710 and FCS 3410 can respectively carry 24 up to 80 technical personnel to their offshore work place in safety and comfort. Both these vessels benefit from Damen’s Sea Axe hull design which, in terms of both seakeeping and fuel consumption, provides the best of both worlds. The first ASV 9020 proved to be an effective and highly productive ‘walk-to-work’ vessel so swiftly that the launching customer ordered a second ship within a year of operations.
“It is important to emphasise that we are adjusting our designs to meet American regulations,” adds Damen Area Manager North America Daan Dijxhoorn. “This includes responding to the specifications of ABS and the US Coast Guard, as well as environmental regulations.”
The Jones Act is another US-specific issue that Damen has several years’ experience with. To this end, the company has embraced the Jones Act by forming cooperative relationships with local American yards that have the capacity to build Damen designs. This process of building Damen vessels in local yards is called Damen Technical Cooperation (DTC).
“This is our unique selling point. We know how to deal with, and we have the flexibility to comply with, these local content regulations,” continues Mr Dijxhoorn. “This gives offshore wind developers wanting to use the same vessel designs that have proved themselves in the European market a lot of chances.”
The combination of Damen’s proven vessel designs and local construction methods will give the emerging North American offshore wind industry the means to benefit from the learning curve that the European offshore wind industry has experienced. “North American players will have the advantage of multiple lessons learned,” notes Mr Stibbe. “To this end, we are looking forward to working closely with the North American offshore wind industry.”
The US Offshore Wind Conference and Exhibition is the largest offshore wind event in North America. Moreover, this year’s edition is due to be the largest yet, with around 60 different exhibitors and more than 100 speakers attending. Damen’s stand is located in booth number 3 and both Daan Dijxhoorn and David Stibbe will be present.
Damen Shipyards Group operates 36 shipbuilding and repair yards, employing 12,000 people worldwide. Damen has delivered more than 6,500 vessels in more than 100 countries and delivers around 175 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, winches, anchors, anchor chains and steel works.
Damen Shiprepair & Conversion (DSC) has a worldwide network of eighteen 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, including the longest, 420 x 80 metres, and the widest, 405 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 1,300 repair and maintenance jobs annually, both at yards as well as in ports and during voyage.