Today, Damen Shipyards and SeaZip Offshore Service strengthened their working relationship by signing another contract for two Damen Fast Crew Suppliers (FCS) 2610 at Wind Energy in Hamburg. The two new vessels, to be named SeaZip 3 and SeaZip 4, will be mobilised in transporting personnel and small quantities of freight to North Sea offshore wind farms.
The new orders follow the delivery last year of two FCS 2610 – named SeaZip 1 and SeaZip 2 – that have been performing successfully at the Nordsee Ost and DanTysk offshore wind farms in the German Bight. “The vessels are great performers ideal for operations and maintenance work,” says SeaZip Offshore Services Managing Director Jan Reier Arends. “They are both under contract until mid-2015 showing how happy our customers are with them.” The two new vessels will display certain changes to the design: “By listening to feedback from our customers, we have come up with a few innovations,” explains Mr Arends.
Although fundamentally of the same design, Damen has implemented the modifications to the already successful FCS 2610 formula. “We have made a number of improvements to these two vessels,” informs Damen Sales Manager Roel van Eijle. “Mainly in the superstructure and a better accommodation for the passengers.” Both vessels will be built at Damen Shipyards Singapore and delivered to SeaZip Offshore Service, a sister company of the JR Shipping Group, by March 2015.
With the FCS 2610 – with its Twin Axe Bow design – Damen has created a new standard in the market for offshore service vessels. The vessel offers reduced peak accelerations of up to 75%, reduced added resistance in waves of up to 60% and has already transferred maintenance crew to turbines in wave heights of 1.9 metres.
