Taiwanese Hung Hua Construction has placed an order with Damen for a Fast Crew Supplier (FCS). It concerns Damen’s FCS 2610. Earlier this year the company also placed an order for two FCS 2710 vessels.
Damen received the order in September. The delivery of the catamaran design vessel with Twin Axe bow which can take up to 12 persons plus crew will take place this month as the vessel is already on stock at Damen Shipyards Singapore. It only needs finishing and some customisation. As a result, it is the first of the three vessels to be delivered to Hung Hua Construction and to become operational.
The FCS 2710 vessels will be delivered early next year. Damen reports that it expects to receive two more orders for the FCS 2710 vessels from Hung Hua Construction.
Hung Hua Construction is Taiwan’s largest dredging and nearshore construction company and is now building presence in offshore wind by developing a capability in fast crew transfer and other other services to support offshore wind construction and operations and maintenance projects off the coast of Taiwan.
All the vessels will be operated by its subsidiary Dong Fang Offshore (DFO). DFO has signed a memorandum of understanding with High Speed Transfers Ltd to cooperate on the provision of crew transfer vessel (CTV) services for the offshore wind market in Asia. The UK-based company already operates a growing fleet of Damen FCS 2710 vessels and will help DFO to establish a comprehensive safety management system (SMS) for the vessels and initiating ongoing crew training in both Europe and Taiwan for the locally based crews.
It is already serving clients such as the Taiwan Power Company, a major force in the country’s nascent offshore wind industry. This latest order adds capacity at short notice, enabling Hung Hua to fulfil the increasing number of charters that it expects, Image: Damen
