Damen Shipyards and Baltic Workboats forge alliance to serve the growing Offshore Wind industry
Baltic Workboats (BWB) and DAMEN Shipyards have signed a partnership agreement for a program of building Damen’s popular crew transfer vessel, the Fast Crew Supplier (FCS) 2710, at BWB’s facility on Saaremaa Island in Estonia, according to the company's release.
The FCS 2710 is a versatile vessel and those built by BWB will undertake a range of duties in the North and Baltic seas. These will include deploying and retrieving technicians and their equipment during the construction and commissioning phases of the wind turbine installations, and then transporting the maintenance crews that keep them operational throughout their lifetimes. A range of propulsion configuration options and preparations for alternative fuels will be available to meet the requirements of regulators and customers.
Damen’s Twin-Axe hull form ensures excellent seakeeping capabilities and fuel economy as well as providing extensive deck space and accommodation. Damen’s policy of continuous design improvement means that they will feature the latest design adjustments such as an improved wheelhouse window arrangement and an upgraded bridge console layout.
Baltic Workboats has long experience in building aluminum fast workboats for patrol and pilot duties as well as ferries and tugs. Series construction of the fast crew suppliers using components and materials supplied by DAMEN suits their well-proven shipbuilding capabilities.
The production of the first batch of vessels is already underway. The aluminum for the first hulls was cut on the 9 th of May and the first vessel is expected to be ready for delivery in the summer of 2024. Over the next five years, more than ten FCS 2710s will be built using serial production techniques adopted from the automotive sector and adapted for the shipbuilding sector.
Damen Shipyards Group has been in operation for over ninety years and offers maritime solutions worldwide, through design, construction, conversion and repair of ships and ship components. DAMEN operates 35 shipyards and 20 other companies in 20 countries, supported by a worldwide sales and service network.
Baltic Workboats has been operating for over 20 years and offers a complete range of aluminum and steel workboats, automation solutions and in-house developed technologies. In addition, it has extensive experience in the integration of complex systems and the latest technologies, allowing it to offer its customers technologically advanced workboats according to their exact requirements. Baltic Workboats shipyard is located in Northern-Europe, Estonia and has delivered over 220 workboats over the years to over 25 countries around the world.
