Three months after Damen delivered an ASD 2411 tug to the Dutch ports of Amsterdam and Ijmudien, the captain and crew has given their comments in a press release.
Jim Iskes, Managing Director at Iskes said, “We needed a compact tug that could work in the Ijmuiden locks – but also a versatile one that could handle anything.”
Read: Good Year for Damen Dredgers
The said tug, named Venus, is 24 metre long and has a 70 tonne bollard pull which immediately assisted a 280 metre bulk carrier in the open sea as part of Iskes 12 fleets operating from Amsterdam.
Auke de Haan, Vessel Captain said: “I had my doubts about working on this relatively smaller tug, but these have turned out to be unfounded.
“We work a lot over the bow, towing in reverse but her stern rises nicely out of the water with great course stability. [Venus] is very manoeuvrable and can handle the power well thanks to the slipping clutches. I can perform manoeuvres with only 10 revs on the prop.”
Wilco Witterkoek, the Venus Engineer said: “There’s quite a lot of electronics down here compared to some of the older tugs that I’ve worked on, but that’s unavoidable these days.
“Being an engineer, it’s a shame that you can’t do much on the engine, that all happens via the laptop.
“However, the shore support that we get from Caterpillar is very handy. Collecting and analysing data in this way really contributes to keeping the ship tip-top.”
Performing the deck work during vessel assists, various mooring and unmooring jobs in the harbour and is also the cook, Deckhand Niels Segelen said: “There are a couple of things that could be improved, in my opinion. The shore supply electricity cable is heavy.
“It would be nice if Damen could find a way to increase the size of the sink in my cabin. For the rest, the Venus is a super boat.”
Responding to the comments, Benelux Mijndert Wiesenekker, Sales Director said: “It is our customers who are out there every day getting the hands-on experience with our vessels.
“So we treat their feedback very seriously, listening and acting on their comments is the best way to improve our vessels.”
