2012

In the opening months of 2012, Shipdock Harlingen was commissioned for an interesting and difficult job by Tranship BV from the Netherlands. While thermometers dropped to far below zero and the whole world was nervously anticipating whether the most prestigious Dutch skating marathon, the Elfstedentocht (11-city-tour), would take place - Shipdock’s staff in Harlingen, one of the cities the marathon would pass through, had other things on their minds!

In presence of Mr. Ing. T.L. Baartmans (member of the board of directors), Mr. J.J.A. Alewijn (director newbuilding) both from Royal Boskalis Westminster nv, Mr. W. den Herder ( D.W. den Herder Maritiem B.V.), Mr. J. Koopmans (President & CEO C.I.G. NV) and Mr. R Kleiverda (Managing Director Shipkits BV) a new contract for a 4500 m3 trailing suction hopper dredger has been signed at the head office of Central Industry Group NV for its subsidiary Shipkits BV. This hopper dredger, the second in this size, will be built at Shipkits’ yard in Stettin, Poland.

A contract signed in Rotterdam on 20 April means that Imtech Marine (Radio Holland Netherlands) will continue to be the (exclusive) distributor of Radio Zeeland products in the inland navigation market for the next five years. The Sigma Line and Falcon Line navigation packages are high-quality products and, because of the new contract, will be supplied with a longer guarantee, enhancing their reliability even more. The companies will present themselves at the Shipping & Construction 2012 exhibition via a joint stand, showcasing the prototype of the unique new Furuno river radar and other innovations.

Damen Shipyards has recently delivered the ‘Bremen 1’ to the City of Bremen (Germany) to replace its 1975-built predecessor. Both the local police force and the fire brigade will use the Damen Fire Fighting Vessel 2406 (FFV) for emergency response. The police will patrol the Port of Bremen and the Weser River with the newbuild.

The third edition of Maritime by Holland Magazine in 2012 is out now. This issue has a Dutch ports, logistics and shipping special, which includes a closer look at the leading ports in the Netherlands and the logistics involved, along with the guest column, written by Marjolein Warburg, director of the Rotterdam Port Promotion Council.

Germanischer Lloyd (GL) announces the release of the first comprehensive set of classification rules for Crew Boats and Offshore Wind Farm Service Craft. As the energy industry expands and installations are pushed ever further offshore and into more challenging environments, the vessels servicing these installations must be relied upon to operate in wider spectrum of conditions and take on more complex challenges.

In summer 2013, the world's first two ferries with a hybrid propulsion system will be put into service. Owned by CMAL, they are being built by Ferguson Shipbuilders in Glasgow. Each of the hybrid vessels will be equipped with two Voith Schneider Propellers (VSP) with an input power of 375 kW per propeller. With its hybrid concept, the shipyard aims to reduce the ferry's CO2 emissions by up to 20 percent.

Feadship has launched the 78.50-metre custom motoryacht Hampshire II for an experienced Feadship owner with a great love of action and sports. From the foredeck ball court to the 25-metre high crow’s mast, this latest scion of the Feadship fleet is a yacht full of adventure.

IHC Merwede, the global market leader for efficient dredging and mining vessels and equipment, and reliable supplier of custom-built ships and supplies for offshore construction, officially opened its new Singapore office at the PSA Building on 12 April.

Recently Imtech Marine, specialized in system integration, successfully completed three innovative new-build vessel projects in Singapore; Seven Borealis for Subsea 7, Rockpiper for a subsidiary of Royal Boskalis Westminster NV and Flintstone for Tideway, part of the DEME Group. The ships will all operate in the oil and gas market. Imtech Marine has combined specific capabilities of its offices in Rotterdam, Shanghai and Singapore. The supply package for two of the three ships includes advanced dynamic positioning (DP), diesel electric propulsion, vessel management (VMS), automation, navigation and communication. The design and engineering was done in Rotterdam, production in Shanghai and installation & commissioning by the Imtech Marine team in Singapore.

Last weekend the T.O.S. crew reached the port of destination Antwerp for the delivery of the SMIT KIWI and SMIT EMOE. The crew left the port of Singapore for a 12.700 nm journey to Western Europe last year. “We are proud to have been awarded for the delivery contract of the rotor tugs. Although T.O.S. personnel has been working on rotor tugs for harbour towing activities in Rotterdam for many years, this is our first rotor driven ship delivery”, says Rolf Kievits, Commercial Manager at T.O.S.

Huisman, the specialist in lifting, drilling and subsea solutions, has secured a new contract from Allseas for the design and manufacturing of an 850mt Offshore Mast Crane. The crane will replace the current 300mt Offshore Mast Crane onboard Allseas’ pipelaying vessel “Solitaire”. The delivery is scheduled for 1 October 2012 at the Huisman production facility in Fujian, China.

The brand new Amels 55-metre yacht, STEP ONE, had her first day out at sea on Tuesday, 4 April 2012. All tests were completed to the full satisfaction of Lloyds Register and the Owner’s Representative, Moran Yachts & Ship

EDT Offshore (Cyprus), an operations and management company for offshore support and dredging services, has taken delivery of a Damen Fast Crew Supplier 3507 and an FCS 5009: the ‘EDT Leda’ and the ´EDT Nefeli´. Both are built according to the Damen Sea Axe design that reduces slamming up to 75% and increases crew comfort. The EDT Nefeli is outfitted with DP1, FiFi 1 and a luxury interior for a high level of passenger comfort during longer trips.

KOTUG will shortly be putting three Damen ASD 2810 tugs into operation. These tugs were ordered by Elizabeth Ltd in Malta and are being chartered by KOTUG, both part of the Kooren Maritime Services Group (KMS). Two tugs are being used in the port of Rotterdam and the third will see service in the port of Hamburg. It’s the first time that Damen Shipyards has built tugs for the KMS Group.

On Friday the 30th of March Yard number 904 the “MARTINI SCAN” has been launched at Peters Shipyards in Kampen. The spectacular ceremony was followed as usual by a large number of spectators. The “MARTINI SCAN” is the fourth vessel in the Sole 10.000 series and another two sister vessels are currently on order. Delivery of the “MARTINI SCAN” is scheduled in the second quarter of this year.

29 March 2012- Imtech Marine announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Inmarsat to become the first Value Added Reseller of Global Xpress™.

On 22nd March, Imtech Marine received the Netherlands Turkey Trade Award 2012. The award was handed over to Terry van Velzen, Business development director of Imtech Marine, by the Turkish Ambassador, His Excellency Ugur Dogan in the city hall of Rotterdam. About 230 persons attended the award ceremony. The award is granted every two years, to a company or person who has remarkably contributed to the trade and/or investment relation between Holland and Turkey. The award grant co-incides with the celebration of 400 years of diplomatic relationships between Holland and Turkey.

And following a true maritime tradition, the new DWB was christened. The representatives and attendees each had a bottle filled with water from their own organisation or habitat symbolising their connection with the new facility.

Amarcon announces yet another OCTOPUS-Onboard installation for a vessel operated by the Dutch heavy cargo transporter Dockwise. In December 2011 Dockwise announced to act as manager of the Chinese Offshore Oil Engineering Co. Ltd (COOEC's) semi submersible HYSY 278 new build 50000 DWT vessel for all third party projects.

For the first time, a Damen Fast Crew Supplier 1605 will be built in Ecuador by Astilleros Navales Ecuatorianos (ASTINAVE) Shipyard. Damen is supplying the complete, prefabricated Shipbuilding Material Package Kit to ASTINAVE. The yard’s technical staff are responsible for the construction, together with Damen Technical Cooperation (DTC). The DTC concept enables customers to build Damen vessels of their choice locally, according to specific requirements.

Imtech Marine has recently signed Global Distribution and Service agreements for satellite communication (VSAT) and satellite TV (TVRO) products with three prominent manufacturers. Via its company Radio Holland, Imtech Marine already had (long) relationships with Intellian, Jotron and Thrane & Thrane, which are now extended for VSAT and TVRO. All Imtech Marine branches (80 around the world) will supply, install, commission and service the systems and arrange airtime.

Jeannette Baljeu, Rotterdam’s Vice Mayor for Port, Transport and Regional Economy, inaugurated the new facility of the Holland Shipbuilding Association, HME and CMTI on 6 March.

The offshore supply vessel North Sea Giant was given the Offshore Support Journal "Ship of the Year 2012" award. The vessel of Norwegian operator North Sea Shipping AS received this prestigious prize during the Offshore Support Vessel Conference in London. North Sea Giant is one of the largest and most powerful offshore supply vessels equipped with Voith Schneider Propellers (VSP) as the main propulsion system.

Damen Marine Components (DMC) has developed a pioneering nozzle production method bases on a single weld seam on the inner side of the nozzle. This makes the process much more efficient and environmentally friendly. The new Nozzle Spinning Machine can deliver nozzles up to 4.5 m at short notice.

The Tonisi, the last tug of a range of 21 tugs, arrived after a journey of 9.700 sea-miles in Balboa, Panama, on February 29th. Also the new building double hull bunker tanker Anatoma arrived in Sydney, Australia on February 26th.

Liuzhou Yinliu Hotel Management Co. Ltd. (China) has ordered a Damen Ferry 3508 with Afai Southern Shipyard (China). The DFe 3508 is a 35m Aluminium Luxury Sightseeing Ferry and is designated for the municipal government of Guangxi Liuzhou. As Liuzhou is the main business port of the Guangxi Zhuang region, the city will use the ferry for receiving both government and industry representatives for official meetings and sightseeing tours along the Liujiang River. Delivery is scheduled in the first quarter of 2013.

IHC Offshore & Marine, part of IHC Merwede, and SapuraCrest have signed two contracts for the design, engineering and construction of two new 550t pipelaying vessels. A third contract has been signed with OSX Construção Naval S.A. Brazil for the design and engineering of a 300t pipelaying vessel, as well as a large equipment package supplied by IHC Engineering Business, among others. The orders have a total value of €450million.

Recently, two Damen Stan Tugs 2608, the Ibrahim 1 and the Jacques, were shipped from the anchorage of Halong Bay, Haiphong (Vietnam) to Casablanca by the Atlantic Winter, an 800t lifting capacity HLV chartered by Danish Heavy Lift carrier Thorco from Reederei Heino Winter.

T.O.S. (Transport & Offshore Services) and Svitzer Americas have done business for a while now. Over the last five years many tug boats were delivered to North America and South America. Because of this cooperation, T.O.S. was able to conduct high speed ship delivery services for the Svitzer Kestrel.

As per February 20, 2012 Imtech Marine has appointed Mr. Sytze Voulon to the position of Regional Director North West Europe (Rotterdam). Mr. Voulon (47) has held several senior management positions in the international maritime industry. He started, after his studies of maritime business at the HTS in Rotterdam, at Mobil Oil in The Netherlands. After Mobil Oil he worked for amongst others Stork, Lips and Rolls-Royce. From 2001, Mr. Voulon worked for Rolls-Royce and held several senior management positions, the most recent being Regional Director - Marine Europe till 2008 and Regional Director Marine Europe & Africa / Vice President Services Europe & Africa.

Damen Shipyards takes great pleasure in the fact that a Damen Modular Dock (DMD) 4020 is being constructed for - and will be delivered to - Djibouti. Djibouti’s busy port is one of the most important gateways to the African continent and is strategically located at the confluence of the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. Besides maintenance of the Port Authorities’ own fleet, the dock will be used for repair and maintenance of port-calling vessels.

In a continued effort to better serve customers and drive growth, Imtech Marine will reshape its Radio Holland organization in the US. Key initiatives include the expansion of the service network to an increased number of ports; the broadening of the product portfolio; the consolidation of service dispatch and back office functions into one central location; and the increase of flexibility of the current logistics operations.

VOSTA LMG BV is already 10 years operative. VOSTA LMG dredging technology is a merger between LMG Marine Technology Department and VOSTA BV. Although this was a new name in 2002, the company embodies 140 years of experience and expertise. Now, ten years later, VOSTA LMG has proven to be a serious partner in the world of dredging.

The latest superyacht to make the World's Top 100 list was launched on January 29th by Oceanco in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Australian-based Sam Sorgiovanni Designs is credited with exterior styling and interior design of the yard-coded Y707. The vessel boasts a length of 88.5 m and a beam of 14.2 m. Much effort went into accommodating all of the owner's requirements without any sacrifice to the sleek profile. The contemporary interior features eucalyptus wood, teak and white onyx interspersed with natural materials, fabrics and colours.

Damen Shipyards Galati is building the Ngola Kiluange, a Fishery Inspection Surveillance Vessel (FISV) 6210, for the Angolan Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries. With another two ships under construction, the Angolan government is set to strengthen its knowledge of and control over its rich fishing grounds.

The VOSTA LMG – Karnafuly joint venture consortium ltd. delivered three high quality Cutter Suction Dredgers 450 to Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA). On Wednesday the 18th of January the vessels were inaugurated by the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina.

Damen Pontoons & Barges signed three contracts for a total of five purpose-built Damen Stan Pontoons (SPo): two Damen Stan Pontoons 6511 for Mammoet Maritime (The Netherlands), two Stan Pontoons 8916 ICE for Silverburn Shipping (I.O.M.) Ltd (UK) and one SPo 4113 for Rhumb Maritime (Australia). Delivery of the pontoons will take place between March and September 2012.

Scottish offshore service provider MarineCo UK has placed an order at Damen Shipyards for two more High Speed Support Vessels (HSSVs). Since taking delivery of Damen’s first-ever HSSV 2610 Twin Axe in June and the second one in the last week of December, the MarineCo Shamal and MarineCo Mariah have shown striking performance when working on offshore wind farms, according to Managing Director Mike Conafray. “I truly believe that this vessel will become the mainstay of the wind farm industry in the years to come. It is the best boat in generations!”

Damen Shipyards will shortly deliver three tugboats to INEA (Instituto Nacional de los Espacios Acuaticos, the Venezuelan Aquatic Authority). This repeat-order follows a previous order for two Damen Stan Tugs purchased by INEA in 2009. The tugs will be used in the Venezuelan ports of Puerto Cabello and La Guaira, and are meant to give assistance to the ships entering and leaving the harbor.

Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. has awarded MeteoGroup Offshore a framework agreement to supply metocean services to its fleet of 1,500 vessels. The framework contract, which began on 1st October 2011, includes the installation of the world’s leading onboard weather routing system, SPOS Onboard (Ship Performance Optimisation System) for a large part of the fleet.

The port of Haifa is one of the largest ports in Israel and a key hub for trade in the Eastern Mediterranean. The port handles over 20 million tons of goods a year. With their precise maneuverability, four Voith Water Tractors ensure safe berthing of the container ships. On November, the tug fleet was enlarged by another Voith Water Tractor. With a bollard pull of 70 tons, the "Ilan" stands out from all other vessels.

Cummins Inc. , a leading manufacturer of diesel engines for the commercial marine industry, will introduce the new QSK95 engine with 4000 hp (2983 kW) output as the most powerful high-speed diesel configured for marine propulsion and auxiliary generator sets. The 95-liter, 16-cylinder engine, revealed today at the Seymour Engine Plant, is designed ready to meet EPA Tier 4 low-emissions regulations taking effect in 2014.

Winteb has received an order from the Brazilian EISA yard based in Rio de Janeiro. The order is for the supply of the WIN2000 air pipe heads for two PSV OSRV, hull 519 & 520. Winteb will supply the WIN2000 type air pipe heads.