Danish company Sea Consult ApS has taken delivery of its first Damen Twin Axe as the company prepares to enter the offshore wind market. Based in Marstal, Sea Consult is a new customer to Damen and this will be the first Fast Crew Supplier (FCS) 2610 to be operated by a Danish company.
The vessel already has work at Belgian and German offshore wind farms for the next year and the company’s new vessel is expected to be deployed in the next two weeks.
The extremely short delivery time was a major reason the Danish company decided to choose the Damen high-speed catamaran. Owner and Managing Director of Sea Consult, Jan Fabricius, says: “Where else can you find a shipyard that has vessels in stock?” A Letter of Intent was signed in early June; Sea Consult and its crew arrived at Damen’s headquarters in Gorinchem, the Netherlands on June 29 and the vessel sailed with its crew and a Damen engineer to Sea Consult’s Danish base, arriving on Sunday evening June 31st.
Mr Fabricius was also on the FCS 2610’s first journey and commented that he was “very satisfied” with the vessel’s performance. “We had seen the Twin Axe FCS 2610 operating at several wind farms and on television and we were particularly impressed by the ‘Axe Bow’.” The revolutionary Damen Axe Bow hull means that resistance is low and this in turn leads to excellent seakeeping behaviour and lower fuel consumption. Mr Fabricius adds: “The Damen FCS 2610 is top in terms of reduced fuel consumption, particularly at low speeds.”
The FCS 2610 is very comfortable for the crew in terms of ergonomics and it is known for its ability to operate smoothly in higher sea states. Sea Consult is considering the possibility of building up a small fleet of the Damen FCS 2610, he adds. “Damen really is very professional, you don’t have to argue if something needs doing, Damen will fix it and they are really nice people to deal with,” Mr Fabricius says.
Chiel de Leeuw, Damen Sales Manager Scandinavia , comments: “Because we build these vessels for stock Damen is able to supply customers quickly and on top of this we were able to offer Sea Consult attractive financial options from Damen Customer Financing.” The vessel was built at Damen Shipyards Singapore, which is a Group specialist in high-speed aluminium craft. “Damen is very much looking forward to seeing Sea Consult’s business grow in this exciting market and hopes that the two companies can develop a long-lasting fruitful cooperation,” says Mr de Leeuw .
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Press release, July 30, 2013; Image: damen