Damen Song Cam Shipyard, one of the largest in the group
On March 20, Vietnamese 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.
Damen Song Cam is considered state-of-the-art, bringing a western shipyard designed to meet European health, safety and environmental standards into a Vietnamese environment. The yard will produce around 40 ships annually in the first phase.
The auspicious occasion was held on a suitable day in the Lunar Calendar in honour of Damen’s Vietnamese team. The many guests were treated to a special tour of the yard, which included many surprises, such as spectacular acrobatics, music and local dance troops.
A history of success
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.”
Chris Groninger, Managing Director of Damen Song Cam comments: “Damen started building in Vietnam for the first time at Song Cam yard and this venture was such a successful cooperation for both Damen and Song Cam that we decided to bring this to the next level and that led to Damen Song Cam.”
Mr Schuurman adds: “Damen built up its presence in Vietnam by subcontracting to yards in Hai Phong initially and the number-one yard was Song Cam and now it is great to see it become our partner in Damen Song Cam.”
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.
Damen Song Cam to set to become the largest series producer in the 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.
Also view relevant videoDamen Shipyard Song Cam
Source & Image Credit: Damen
