On March 20, Vietnamese Vice-Minister of Transport Mr Nguyen Hong Truong, carried out the official Vietnamese ribbon-cutting ceremony for the latest addition to Damen Shipyard Group’s portfolio. Damen Song Cam, a brand new yard, is one of the largest in the Group and represents Damen’s first formal Joint Venture yard in Vietnam. FMO has been an investor in this project providing a total debt package of EUR 35 million.
Damen has a well-established history in Vietnam and has been working with five shipyards for more than 12 years. Pim Schuurman, Managing Director of Damen Holding Vietnam, is delighted to see Damen Song Cam officially open its production hall. “We have successfully built 226 vessels in Vietnam with our partner yards. Vietnam has a lot of shipbuilding knowledge, the people are very hard working and in the next stage of Damen’s Vietnam journey we are looking forward to having our own Joint Venture shipyard, which has been designed to maximise efficiency.”
With direct access to open sea, the new yard is based on a 43-hectare site, of which 500 m is directly alongside the River Cam. The yard has a 120 m long x 85 m wide outfitting hall, plus extensive paint and carpentry workshops. The paint shop is an air-conditioned, controlled environment. Around 300 people currently work at Damen Song Cam Shipyard, which will slowly rise to 800 at the end of phase 1, enabling the yard to handle 40 vessels annually. After that, phase 2 and 3 will bring extra facilities, making the yard suitable for building up to 50 hulls and outfitting a further 80 vessels annually. By then, more than 2500 people will be working at Damen’s largest production facility. Damen indirectly employs around 5,000 people in Vietnam and most people have worked for the Dutch shipyard group for many years.
Damen Song Cam is set to become the largest series producer in the Damen Group therefore everything revolves around efficiency. The shipbuilding hall is in fact a dedicated outfitting hall, with three overhead cranes of 25- tonnes each over every bay. Special work platforms are fitted at 5 m and 8 m, so employees are able to work very close to the main deck of the vessels, making the logistics very efficient and the walking distances very short. Components can be stored on the platforms so outfitters don’t need to climb up and down; it is as if you are building the vessel on the ground floor. Everything is to hand so it is less tiring for people.
Damen has invested a great deal in training and the transfer of knowledge to Vietnam. More than 50 engineers have been trained in the Netherlands and many more will attend courses in the Netherlands and Vietnam. Additionally, an office has been established in Hai Phong and in the next six months Damen is looking to open a base in Hanoi. For more information look at www.damen.com
