During a special contract signing ceremony at Europort 2013 yesterday, Maaskant Shipyards Stellendam, part of Damen Shipyards Group signed the contract to build an additional Seismic Research Support Vessel for Rederij Groen.

This latest contract follows last month's order of two new Seismic Research Support Vessels (SRSVs) that are due for delivery in the third quarter of 2014. This third vessel, initially only an option, completes the latest phase of Rederij Groen's expansion and will be delivered in 2015. The new SRSV will be identical to the first two; 35 x 8.70 metres and propelled by two Azimuth thrusters, each powered by a 500 kW electric motor. Three Caterpillar gensets will provide electrical power.

Rederij Groen, whose fleet will now number 27 vessels, is planning to put the vessels to work in the seismic industry worldwide. The fleet includes SRSVs, guard boats and chasers such as the 'Aquarius-G' and the 'Astra-G' also built at Maaskant Shipyards. The new SRSV's will often operate alongside other vessels, assisting with board-to-board transhipment of goods and equipment. Their design provides stability and manoeuvrability, crucial to this sector.

Trust & Craftmanship
Speaking about his long relationship with Maaskant Shipyards, Rederij Groen owner Henk Groen is pleased with the long relationship between shipyard and shipowner, “We have worked with Maaskant Shipyards for 10 years now, we have built up a lot of trust. I know with certainty that they deliver quality.”

Damen's newbuild and repair yard in Stellendam has built all Rederij Groen's SRSVs. After signing the latest contract yesterday, Maaskant Shipyards director Fritz van Dongen was rightly proud, “Clients keep coming back to us for our craftsmanship. We have a good infrastructure in place to cope with any challenge.” The yard also performs maintenance and repair for their entire fleet.

Damen Shipyards Group
Damen Shipyards Group operates 40 ship- and repair yards, employing 8.000 people worldwide. Damen has delivered more than 5.000 vessels in more than 100 countries and delivers approx. 180 vessels annually to customers worldwide. Based on its unique, standardised ship-design concept Damen is able to guarantee consistent quality.

Damen's focus on standardisation, modular construction and keeping vessels in stock leads to short delivery times, low 'total cost of ownership', high resale value and reliable performance. Furthermore, Damen vessels are based on thorough R&D and proven technology.

Damen offers a wide range of products, including: tugs, workboats, naval and patrol vessels, high speed craft, cargo vessels, dredgers, vessels for the offshore industry, ferries, pontoons and super yachts.

For nearly all vessel types Damen offers a broad range of Services, such as maintenance, spare parts delivery, training and transfer of (shipbuilding) know-how. To complete, Damen offers a variety of marine components, especially nozzles, rudders, anchors, anchor chains and steel works.

In addition to ship design and shipbuilding, Damen Shiprepair & Conversion offers a network of 16 repair & conversion yards worldwide, with dry docks ranging up to 420x80 metres. Conversion projects range from adapting vessels to today's requirements and regulations to the complete conversion of large offshore structures. DS&C handles 1,500 repair and maintenance jobs annually.