Damen Landing Utility Vessel 1608 unveiled for aquaculture industry

On 26th July, Damen Shipyards Group and Coastal Workboats Scotland unveiled a new vessel for the aquaculture industry in Oban, Scotland. The unveiling of the new Damen Landing Utility Vessel 1608 took place at the same time as the handover of the first in series, to client Loch Duart.

The LUV 1608 is built by Coastal Workboats Scotland to a Damen design that was engineered by Damen design bureau OSD-IMT. The vessel will be able to carry out a wide range of support tasks to the aquaculture industry, including the transportation of people, equipment and feed to offshore fish-farming locations. A key feature of the LUV 1608 is the hull design, which has been developed to accommodate a HS Marine AK67 E4 Crane. This size of crane offers very high capability not usually seen in a vessel of 16 metres with close to 14 tonnes lifting capacity at 3.5 metres and 3 tonnes at 13 metres.

The LUV 1608 hull can also be built at 19 metres in length to provide additional deck capacity. The development of the LUV 1608 has drawn on the expertise of a number of parties specialising in shipbuilding and the aquaculture industry. The original concept was for a Utility Vessel (UV), but was expended to have landing craft functionality to ensure a wider geographical reach for operations in areas where there was less port infrastructure available.

As is usual with Damen standardised vessel designs, the LUV 1608 can be customised to meet individual client requirements. This is demonstrated with this first vessel for Loch Duart, the tailored features of which include tyre fenders, location of capstans and foot pedals.

Damen sales manager Mike Besijn, speaking on the occasion of the unveiling of the first vessel, said, “The development of the Damen LUV shows our commitment to aquaculture, an industry we believe is part of the solution when it comes to feeding the world of tomorrow.

“The functionality of the vessel shows that we are listening to the market and responding to its needs. And, as is the culture at Damen, we are working with the experts in the industry to ensure that what we deliver is both relevant and reliable. We are very grateful to Karl Scott of Maritime Aqua for his in-depth market knowledge, which has been invaluable in the development of this design and for the supply of the HS Marine AK67 E4 Crane and Tenfjord Deck Machinery.

“Furthermore, I’d like to congratulate Brian and Julie Pogson of Coastal Workboats Scotland on the construction of a truly high-quality, strong and sturdy vessel. Together, we wish Loch Duart the very best with their new vessel.”