In 2024, Damen Shipyards is celebrating the supply of more than 70 of its 42-metre plus Stan Patrol vessels. These inshore patrol vessels range in size from 42 metres up to 62 metres, with six versions from which to choose. Capable of speeds of up to 30 knots and a range of up to 5,000 nm, they are exceptionally versatile and can be optimised to undertake a wide range of duties. These include routine patrols, maritime safety, fisheries protection and search & rescue.
The best-selling, 42-metre Stan Patrol 4207 can be found on every inhabited continent, with over 100 delivered in the past 20 years. In the five years from 2008 to 2013 alone, Damen supplied vessels or licenses to Albania, Barbados, Canada, Germany, Honduras, Mexico and the USA. A fundamentally dependable platform with excellent seakeeping, a wide range of options include a slipway for deploying high-speed RHIBs when undertaking security and law-enforcement roles and foldable deck cranes for loading and unloading equipment and supplies. The complete Stan Patrol (SPa) family consists of twelve vessels with the largest capable of achieving speeds of up to 30 knots and a range of 5,000 nautical miles.
Offshore patrol vessels
Damen’s Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV) have also been sold around the world and today undertake a wide range of tasks. Introduced in 2004, OPVs are a crossover design between vessels suited to naval standards and commercial vessels. They can deliver specific naval capabilities using commercial platforms at significant cost benefits. OPVs are true multi-mission platforms, designed to be highly adaptable. As well as security and law enforcement duties, they can be equipped to undertake search and rescue operations, oil spill detection, fisheries inspection and humanitarian assistance including disaster relief. Damen has delivered nearly 30 OPVs, up to 90 metres in length.
In that same period Damen supplied a 66-metre Hydrographic Survey vessel to Thailand and a 74-metre Fishery Research vessel to the Angolan Fisheries Ministry. Hydrographic Survey vessels have both commercial and military applications.
Why Damen?
Over the past two decades, Damen has delivered nearly 3000 vessels, demonstrating its industry-leading position. The company's portfolio is unmatched in the industry with its comprehensive range including not only naval and patrol vessels, but also workboats of all types serving ports and harbours and the offshore energy sector. Its ferries and freighters can be found all over the world, and it also designs and builds highly specialist vessels for commercial and governmental applications.
Damen's defence and security portfolio is equally broad and comprehensive. Its inshore and offshore patrol boats, ranging from 16 to 98 metres, along with its custom frigates, corvettes, and SIGMA combatants, are operational worldwide, including with European navies.
The group has also designed and built some of the most complex vessels currently afloat. In addition to its naval projects, recent deliveries have included the ASRV (Antarctic Supply Research Vessel) Nuyina, delivered to the Australian Government in 2021. At 160 metres in length, it is the most sophisticated vessel of its kind in the world today. The following year, the world's most advanced diamond recovery vessel, the 177-metre Benguela Gem, was unveiled in Namibia. This vessel is a joint venture between De Beers and the Government of Namibia.
Damen's production techniques are supported by a set of strategic initiatives across the group. These include a firm commitment to its core values of stewardship, craftsmanship, fellowship and entrepreneurship, which in turn underpin its goal of delivering sustainability, digitalisation, operational excellence and a customer-centric approach. With these, Damen maintains a clear focus on both the present and the future as well as the needs of its customers.
The success of Damen Shipyards Group over the years has been based on a variety of factors, including its global outlook. As much of the world's shipbuilding industry shifted from western countries to the Asian continent, Damen was among the first to recognise that it could continue to thrive by establishing a worldwide footprint. This strategy not only allows it to benefit from cost efficiencies, it also enables it to develop enduring relationships with its customers by investing in local facilities and partnerships.