Work has begun at Damen Shipyards Singapore on the construction of two of Damen’s latest fast crew supply vessel; the FCS 2710. In what was described as ‘the cutting ceremony’, as the vessels are being built in aluminium, Mr. Chung Pang Chen and Mr. Polin Chen of Hung Hua Construction Co. Ltd. of Taiwan were joined by Michiel Hendrikx, Sales Manager Asia Pacific for Damen and colleagues from Singapore and Gorinchem to mark this important occasion.
The two vessels, to be named the Falcon I and Falcon II, will support Hung Hua Construction (HHC) in its ambition to play a major role in the development of Taiwan’s rapidly expanding offshore wind power sector. As the country’s largest dredging and nearshore construction company it is already involved and, with a government target of 5.5GW by the end of 2025, there is plenty of work to be done at the ten sites off Taiwan’s west coast currently under development. HHC plans to support the lead contractor Taiwan Power Company by supplying them with fast crew transfer and other support services.
The twin-hulled FCS 2710 replaces the best-selling Damen FCS 2610. Despite being just one metre longer, it can carry twice as many personnel as well as offer more flexibility, more tank capacity, greater usable deck space, increased comfort and more accommodation. The extra metre above the water also allows the vessel to operate in wave heights of above two metres, substantially increasing the range of weather conditions in which it can be at sea. The two vessels for HHC will have some additional, small changes to meet the company’s specific demands as well as to optimise them for local Taiwanese requirements and conditions.
In his speech at the ceremony, Michiel Hendrikx declared; “I would like to thank Hung Hua construction again with the trust and confidence they have in Damen Shipyards to build these two important vessels for them. The installation works of the first wind farms in Taiwan have started this year and this is just the start of a new era in Taiwan with offshore construction projects. Hung Hua and Damen share a long history together and Hung Hua already has a number of Damen-built vessels in its existing fleet. Throughout the years they have experienced the quality and reliability of the Damen vessels and I am sure that this experience also played an important role in their decision to proceed with Damen for acquisition of these two new CTVs.”
