Hung Hua Construction Co. of Taiwan has placed an order for two of Damen’s latest fast crew supply vessel; the FCS 2710.
The contract was signed at the end of January and the vessels will be built at Damen Shipyards Singapore for delivery in early 2020.
Hung Hua Construction (HHC) is Taiwan’s largest dredging and nearshore construction company and recently has become involved in Taiwan’s fast-growing offshore wind sector. With a government target of 5.5GW by the end of 2025 there is plenty of work to be done with ten sites off Taiwan’s west coast currently under development. Following its successful installation of the first offshore project in Taiwan; the Southern Weather Observation Tower for the Taiwan Power Company, HHC is now looking ahead to the next phase of their mutual cooperation by supplying them with fast crew transfer and support services.
The twin-hulled FCS 2710 with its Damen trademark Axe Bow is just one metre longer and extends just one metre higher above the waterline than its best-selling predecessor the FCS 2610. However, 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. This substantially increases 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 optimise them for local Taiwanese requirements and conditions.
Michiel Hendrikx, Sales Manager Asia-Pacific for Damen Shipyards Group, commented: “The FCS 2710 is proving to be very successful in the offshore wind market in Europe and we are sure that she will also perform well in Taiwan’s local waters which can be quite harsh and rough. We are also confident that the market in Asia will have more demand for this type of vessel in the future and so we have decided to start series production of the FCS 2710 in Singapore with two more vessels to be ready for delivery in 2020.”
