Rugby World Cup 2019 favourites visit HST newbuilds at Damen Shipyards Antalya

The Welsh national rugby team has visited Damen Shipyards Antalya. The team was invited to the yard by Tom Nevin, chief executive officer of High Speed Transfers Ltd, the crew transfer specialist that is based in Swansea, Wales, when he learned that they were attending a ten-day, hot weather training camp near Antalya.

Tom invited them to view HST’s third and fourth Fast Crew Supplier 2710s Harri and Euan as a two-way gesture of support ahead of the start of the Rugby World Cup 2019 taking place in Japan from 20 September. The timing was fortunate as Tom and his fellow director Chris Monan were scheduled to be in Antalya for the commissioning of the Harri, and the 14 members of the squad that joined them at the yard were given a tour on board as she lay alongside the dock. They also had the opportunity to see the Euan in build in one of the covered halls. The visit was rounded off with a cruise around Antalya Harbour on a pleasure boat followed by lunch.

“It was just too good an opportunity to miss,” says Tom Nevin. “When I heard that they would be in Antalya at the same time that we were commissioning Harri I got in touch with the team management and they were more than happy to give some of their valuable time to support a Welsh company. They even signed a Damen / HST flag for us as a memento of the occasion! As number one in the current world rugby rankings Wales is one of the favourites to win the World Cup and we will be cheering them on all the way!”

Coincidentally, Harri is due to be officially handed over to HST on the same day that the World Cup gets underway. Euan is scheduled for launch in mid-October.

HST has grown rapidly since it took delivery of its first Damen FCS 2170 in early summer 2018. With an initial focus of supporting the offshore wind sector, the company has since completed a successful three-month evaluation with oil major Shell in the Black Sea. The Sofia demonstrated its ability to offer a low cost, high safety alternative to helicopter transfers and the two companies are now in discussions regarding future projects.