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36 • MarineNews • April 2006 sion related design features as well as reduction of military signature. Further- more, ongoing research is done to increase building efficiency, resulting in reduction of delivery time, while improv- ing the maintainability of the vessels. Both departments also have some current R&D projects that are not strictly contract driven but more motivated in a broader expectancy of market development. Although we will not go into detail on the latest, we would like to mention some past achievements: • In 1995 Damen started with a research program, called the "Enlarged Ship Concept" focused on optimizing Patrol craft seagoing behavior. The basic thought behind the idea is enlarging ships length without increase of displacement thus reducing ships resistance and slam- ming effects. The Damen Stan Patrol 4100 (delivered to Dutch Coast Guard in the Caribbean) was the effective result. Further optimization resulted in the cur- rent line of Damen Spa 4207 (a.o. UK, Dutch Coast Guard, Jamaica). In line with this research program we are currently developing a new series of ves- sels that have even better seagoing char- acteristics and have also used this concept in our Crew Supply range. First vessels are under construction and will be deliv- ered in 2006. Damen participates in the FAST pro- ject in conjunction with i.e. the US Coast Guard, MARIN etc. MN: How does the continued trend of new ship construction evolving in the Far East, particularly China, affect your business? Damen: The ongoing development of new shipbuilding areas has always been a great challenge and opportunity for Damen. Ever since Damen first started subcontracting hulls and later full con- struction in more competitive wage coun- tries, in comparison to Holland, this has been an ongoing process of finding new places for even more competitive con- struction. In such manner we started off going to Poland in the late 80's / early 90's, later to the former East-blok coun- tries Russia, Joegoslavia in the mid 90's and recently Romania (2000), China (1999), Ukraine (2001) and South East Asia (2003). The constant search for new subcontract- ing yards for partial and/or full construc- tion of our product series is a balancing effort between low prices, quality control and delivery security for which we have specialized people in our Contracting and Yard Support (CYS) department Damen Shipyards Group currently has two shipyards in China. Damen Shipyards Changde was purchased in (2000) and a joint venture with Damen Shipyards Yichang (for the construction of Cargo Vessels) was formed in 1998. We find that the Chinese shipbuilding Industry is a highly competitive market, especially in the production of series of vessels. At Damen Shipyards Changde we produce the Damen ASD (Azimuth Stern Drive) 2411 and 3111 besides the conventional Damen Stan Tug 1606 and 2208. Damen Ychang nowadays focuses on the Damen CF (Combi Feeder) 10500 of which we have four under construction. Furthermore, Damen is currently building a wide range of vessels in South East Asia, where we hope to come to a close cooperation with the local yard shortly. Circle 248 on Reader Service Card ENGINEERING ? DESIGN ? MANUFACTURING x Bulkhead Systems in Stock – Isolamin x Ceiling Systems B-0 & B-15 x Doors -Fire Rated A-60, B-30, Watertight & Weathertight x Hatches x Toilet Modules U.S. Coast Guard Approved Products Tel.: (514) 636-5555 Fax.: (514) 636-5410 www.joinersystems.com Circle 224 on Reader Service Card TSHD 600. APRIL MN2006 5(33-40).qxd 4/7/2006 3:14 PM Page 36
