First Damen Twin-Axe Workboat for Offshore Platform Passenger and Crew Transfer in Middle East
On 20 August 2015, Damen Shipyards Group delivered a Damen Fast Crew Supplier (FCS) 2610 workboat named AOS Swift for the Atlantic Maritime Group. This is the first Damen twin-axe vessel to be used in the Middle East for safe passenger and crew transfer as well as for the transport of industrial personnel, materials and equipment to unmanned offshore platforms in the Strait of Hormuz. Within less than this months – and this includes the vessel’s transportation from Damen Shipyards Gorinchem – Damen has customised, commissioned and delivered the stock vessel.
Damen signed the contract with Atlantic Maritime Group in the United Arab Emirates on 1 June 2015. The vessel is going to be chartered to a Norwegian oil and gas company for its platform operations offshore Oman. Atlantic Maritime Group FZE ordered this workboat because it is reliable in rough-water conditions with a high operational speed of 25 knots maximum. Up to 35 industrial personnel are transported to and from the platform daily. Although there is a heliport on the unmanned platform, it is more efficient and less costly to transfer personnel by sea.
“Damen specialises in broader marine access in the offshore wind and oil and gas industries. We see a large potential in this marine access market to reduce costs and improve logistics as well as to partially replace helicopter flights that can be expensive and less efficient. And some unmanned platforms are without heliports and only have marine access,” explains David Stibbe, Damen Business Development Manager.
The vessel was shipped from Damen Shipyards Gorinchem to Damen Shipyards Sharjah for further customisation and outfitting. The 25.75-metre-long workboat’s twin-hull design features robust fendering. A gas detection system has also been installed and extra air-conditioning units were needed for the Middle East climate zone. This FCS workboat is further equipped with an additional hydraulically-operated 2,200kg crane with a reach of 8.6 metres and has deck space for two 20-foot containers. The vessel is also equipped with a GPS Plot self-managed man-overboard system and a Jason cradle for emergency personnel recovery. The workboat houses a total of 35 passengers plus crew, with accommodation situated at the aft of the vessel for comfort. Three of these Damen FCS 2610 workboats are used for the oil and gas industry worldwide; the remaining two are employed in the North Sea. In addition to personnel transfer, the vessels perform safety standby and logistics services.