Like many of the world’s shipbuilders, the Damen Group of the Netherlands often has the basic hulls of its vessels built overseas and then fits them out for final delivery at its European facilities. Such was the case on 4 April when the 51,500dwt Chinese heavylift ship Zhen Hua 29 arrived in Rotterdam with a number of pre-built hulls aboard that will eventually be finished by Damen as tugs, workboats, barges and pontoons.
The shipment had left China seven weeks previously and consisted of 13 new Damen Stan Pontoons and ten other Damen vessels. The built-for-stock pontoons and vessels will enable Damen to fulfil very short delivery times as demand rises. This has also led to Damen introducing newly-designed barges and completing a number of custom pontoon and barge projects for a variety of customers. Damen can now call on four different yards in the Middle East, Vietnam and China to supply its basic hull needs.
