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The shipdock facility in Amsterdam. Verolme Botlek s yard Rotterdam: successful in 1 conventional shipping and offshore. The Cono Feeder 200 containership Bermuda Islander being side-launched at Tille Ship- yards in north Holland. great deal of tug operations in the U.K. De Schelde, located at Vlissingen, has for many years concentrated on the naval buildingindustries, although over recent months has moved successfully back into the commercial market. The current orderbook comprises two RoRo vessels for Commodore Shipping, and, placed during the summer months, an order for a catamaran ferry from Greek shipowner A. Valsamis. IHC Holland, one of the largest dredger-building companies through- out the world, has recently completed a series of such vessels for mainland China and is now working on a dredger order for the Suez Canal Authority, and an 18,000-dwt capacity dredger for Jan de Nul, which was originally ordered from Belgium's Boelwerf and then taken over by IHC after the Bel- gian yard went bankrupt. In the north of Holland there are a number of small shipbuilding yards situated along the Westdiep Canal, near Groningen. Many of these yards are marketed by Conoship, a central de- sign and marketing organization set up to assist the smaller yards on the international market. Recent new contracts for the north Holland shipyards include a 4,250-dwt general cargo vessel to be built by Bijlholt for Germany's Bockstiegel, as well as two sisterships for Dutch owners; a series of 4,200-dwt dry cargo vessels for various Dutch and German owners to be built at Bodewes Volharding; a series of four 2,000- dwt chemical tankers to be built by Damen for Germany's Gefo; one 4,200-dwt, and two 6,000- dwt dry cargo vessels to be built by Pattje for Germany's Hartmann; and a 6,100-dwt reefer vessel ordered from Van Diepen by reefer spe- cialist Vroon, in Breskens. Meanwhile, the first in a series of newly- designed Cono Feeder 200 container feeder ships, the 205-TEU Bermuda Islander, was launched at Tille Shipyards, Kootstertille, on August 26, Ferus Smit's building yard in northern Holland is one of many small shipbuilding facilities along the Westdiep Canal near Groningen. marking a return to full shipbuilding activities for the shipyard. For the past five years, the shipyard, part of Central Industry Group (CIG), Groningen, has been utilized as a section-only building yard. The ship will be operated by Armawa Ship- ping & Trading, Groningen, and will enter a long- term charter of three years with Bermuda Inter- national Shipping Ltd. (BISL) with three option periods of one year each, when she is delivered during October of this year. She will operate on the New Jersey to Hamilton (Bermuda) feeder service, a service operated by BISL since 1985. Although she will be operating on the U.S. east- ern seaboard, the vessel will remain under Dutch flag and will be ere wed, both officers and ratings, by Dutch nationals. The shipyard has built the vessel in record time, with the keel laid during April this year, the launching during August, and delivery sched- uled for mid-October. The order from Armawa Shipping comprises one further sistership with an option, dependent upon financial support from 44 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News By Alan Thorpe, international editor Dutch Builders Enjoy Influx Of International Orders The Dutch shipbuilding industry has been very active in the newbuilding sector recently, with many yards winning new orders not only from the domestic scene but also from interna- tional owners. A complicated tax system, which allows Dutch owners financial benefits from or- dering within the Dutch shipbuilding industry and using Dutch registries and crews, has al- lowed the yards to win some work from the domestic market over recent months. However, it is currently uncertain as to whether this sys- tem will be allowed to continue. Rotterdam's van der Giessen de-Noord has continued its success in the ferry market with yet another order, this time from Sweden's Stena line. The $95 million contract involves a 1,500-passenger capacity vessel, which is due for delivery during May 1996. One of the main reasons behind the Stena- awarded contract was the use of designs from previous ferries for North Sea Ferries, thus guar- anteeing a short delivery time. Also currently on order at the yard are two 1,000-passenger ca- pacity ferries for Dalian Marine Transport in mainland China. Another new order placed this summer in Holland was a $98 million contract from U.K.- based Westminster Dredging, a subsidiary of Holland's Royal Boskalis Westminster NV, for a 23,000-cu.-m. trailing suction hopper dredger to be built at Verolme Heusden, part of the Wilton Fijenoord Holdings BV group. The vessel, which will be one of the largest of its kind in the world, will be delivered during the spring of 1997. The yard is also currently building two specialized products tankers for domestic owner Gebr Boere. Following an order placed last year for a 7,280- dwt specialized heavy lift vessel to be built at YVC Ysselwerft, Rotterdam, Khan Shipping, part of the Jumbo Shipping operation, has now placed an order for a second ship. Damen Shipyards recently won two orders from the international market, a series of three harbor tugs for Africa's Ghana Ports Authority, and a series of smaller harbor tugs for Australia's Howard Smith, a company which controls a
