Three new Damen search and rescue vessels have been handed over to Jawar al Khaleej (JAK) in a ceremony held on 23 September at Albwardy Damen in Sharjah, within five months after the contract was signed, according to the company's release.
The vessels are two Damen SPi 1605 SAR class plus one Damen STe 1905 SAR and they will be deployed in Iraqi waters under a 20-year contract between Jawar Al Khaleej L.L.C. (JAK) and the Iraqi Ports Authority.
JAK’s remit is to establish and operate a Search & Rescue Centre based in Basra in cooperation with the government-owned General Company for Ports of Iraq (GCPI). The state-of-the-art centre and its vessels will bring new capabilities in search and rescue to Iraqi waters. The new boats, while based on standard Damen designs, are fully equipped for search and rescue operations.
A Damen Search and Rescue (SAR) 1906 is under construction for JAK. This vessel represents the next generation of rescue boats and has been developed in close cooperation with the Royal Netherlands Sea Rescue Institution (KNRM). As would be expected from a rescue boat, this design will self-right within seconds after a capsize or even a 360° roll. The SAR 1906 series has been proven with their operations with the KNRM and the Turkish Coastguard to be a superior search and rescue boat able to operate in challenging sea conditions.
During the delivery ceremony of the three SAR vessels, JAK also celebrated the completion of the conversion of the Jawar 31. A 122-metre vessel that has been refurbished to newbuilding standards and converted by Albwardy Damen to a multi-purpose heavy lift vessel, it has oil response capabilities and is equipped with a fully electric 250-tonne class crawler crane.
While Iraq’s coastline is just 58 kilometres in length, it is extremely busy with around 80% of Iraq’s oil exports departing from the Al Basra Oil Terminal. Besides the offshore rescue capabilities, the JAK search and rescue centre will also cover Iraq’s rivers.
