Dutch shipbuilder Damen has signed a contract with the Dutch and Swedish Ministries of Defence for a seven-year, in-service maintenance contract for five tug boats.
The agreement covers all maintenance, both scheduled and non-scheduled, with the exception of the routine operational activities which fall within the remit of the crew.
Under the contract, tug-crews may receive training from Damen for their routine maintenance tasks, and training in vessel handling and maneuvering at the simulator training centre operated by 360-Control in IJmuiden, the Netherlands.
Defence Material Organisation of the Netherlands and the Swedish Forsvarets Materielverk (FMV) are procuring Damen-built tugs under a joint venture.
The agreement with the Royal Netherlands Navy (RNLN) covers three Damen ASD 2810 Hybrid tugs. Two of these, the Noordzee and Waddenzee, were delivered in February and April respectively. The third, named the Zuiderzee, is due for delivery in June, 2016. Their maintenance will be provided by the nearby Damen Shipyards Den Helder.
For the Swedish Royal Navy, Damen Shiprepair Oskarshamnsvarvet on Sweden’s Baltic coast will be performing the maintenance on their two Damen ASD 3010 tugs (ICE class), named HMS Hector and HMS Hercules.
Peter van den Berg , Deputy Director of Damen Shipyards Den Helder, commented: “The maintenance management solutions that we and Damen Shiprepair Oskarshamnsvarvet will be providing will relieve the navies of the time and effort needed to ensure that these vessels are fully operational at all times.”
“At Den Helder we have also established a specialised training team to support organisations and companies adapting to the new technology of hybrid vessels. The Oskarhamn location is situated exactly between the operational areas of the Swedish tugs. The two ways flow of information that is generated as a result ensures that our vessels continue to develop so that they best meet the needs of our customers.”