A naming ceremony was held at Damen Dredging Equipment in Nijkerk recently for the second of Van Oord’s Damen Cutter Suction Dredgers (CSD) 650, the Mangystau.
The ceremony was attended by members of the Van Oord and Damen families. The vessel will be delivered to the client in early January, 2016.
Damen received the first order for a CSD 650 dredger from leading dredging and marine contractor Van Oord at the end of 2014; named the Ural River.
With delivery scheduled six weeks from ordering, the on-stock availability of the vessel was a critical factor to support Van Oord’s dredging projects in the Caspian Sea.
In contrast to the time restrictions for the Ural River, this second order allowed for Van Oord to apply a procurement approach to the sourcing of the dredger.
Jointly engineered modifications to the Ural River allowed change of its classification to coastal operation, additional tank capacities and specific safety and environmental features to comply with Van Oord’s requirements.
Govert van Oord, Area Director for Europe, said: “The success of sister ship Ural River laid the basis for the design of the Mangystau. Damen’s knowledge combined with our practical experiences resulted in a very versatile vessel.
“The name Mangystau refers to a province in the region of the Caspian Sea, which is an important working area for Van Oord.”
Jeroen van Woerkum, Sales Manager for Damen, said: “Damen is keen on standardisation and consistently providing the same standard and quality. This approach is compatible with Van Oord’s approach to continue to use the same type of dredger for their project.
“This has numerous benefits not only in the understanding of how the dredger will operate, but it also means that the spare parts package can be used for both dredgers.”
Fact File: Damen Shipyards operates 32 shipbuilding and repair yards, employing 9,000 people worldwide. Damen has delivered more than 5,000 vessels in more than 100 countries and delivers around 160 vessels annually to customers worldwide.
