Group Ocean Orders Two Damen Vessels

Recently, at the New Orleans Workboat Festival in the United States, Damen Shipyards Group signed a contract with Canada-based Group Ocean for the delivery of two Modular Multi Cats 1205.

The vessels, which are made of standard, container sized units for easy transportation anywhere in the world, will serve as dredging support vessels on an oil sands project in the north of Canada.

The location of the oil sands tailing ponds upon which the Multi Cats will work is inland and not easily accessible by water. The modular nature of the vessels means that they can be easily transported to site by truck and then quickly assembled for operation on location.

This is the second contract Damen has signed with Group Ocean. The synergy between both companies has been proven during the first join project for the construction of Ocean’s first TSHD, for which Damen was providing all technical support and the steel/component package for the construction of this vessel at Ocean’s shipyard.

Tommy Theriault, Business Development Director for Ocean Marine Works and Dredging, explained: “In addition to the ease with which we can transport these vessels to inaccessible locations quickly and cost-effectively, Damen’s standardized shipbuilding process meant that they already had one of the vessels on stock for extremely fast delivery.”

Because one of the Multi Cats was in stock already, the first delivery will take place in February – less than three months following the signing of contract. The second vessel, which is being built at Damen Shipyards Kozle in Poland, will follow in Q2 2018.

Damen Regional Sales Manager North American, Daan Dijxhoorn said, “The speed with which we are able to deliver these vessels, as well as the convenience that results from modular construction, really goes to show the unique advantages of standardized shipbuilding as practiced at Damen.”

The Damen Multi Cat has is a versatile workboat with an extensive track record in many sectors. It is used for towing and anchor-handling, dive support, marine engineering, offshore energy operations and for dredging and dredging support operations.