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Superyachts, frigates, dredgers and gas tankers: they all visited Damen Shiprepair Vlissingen in 2023. It was a good year that ended with an enjoyable Christmas drink for current and former employees. And on 2 January there was the traditional New Year’s meeting at 7am with coffee and cake. “I thanked our employees for their hard work,” says Managing Director Michiel de Vlieger (pictured above). “DSV ended 2023 very positively. There were no major incidents, and the docks were filled nicely throughout the year. However, it was a different year from what we are used to. In previous years, we always had two big projects in winter and one in summer, but 2023 was different because of the HNLMS Johan de Witt and HNLMS Friesland.”
Michiel started 2023 as Commercial Manager of DSV, but in April, former Managing Director Peter Sterkenburg retired, and Michiel took over the position. “It has been a good start and I have since found my niche. We have a relatively new Management Team with Jeroen Schotel as our new Commercial Manager. He was Area Sales Manager at Damen Shiprepair & Conversion in Rotterdam. We have split Operations in two: Vincent van Rulo has become Head of Projects and Robin Juranek already was Head of Production. It’s a good team and, despite the changing of the guard, we are ensuring the continuity of the company.”
Ocean-Going Patrol Vessel (OPV) HNLMS Friesland in dry dock 1.
Among the big jobs were work on HNLMS Friesland. The Ocean-Going Patrol Vessel (OPV) spent two months in drydock and one month at the Vlissingen-Oost quayside after the summer holidays and will return in spring for a second period, this time partly in the covered dock. Also, during the summer, DSV was visited by the world’s second largest semi-submersible heavy lift vessel. COSCO Shipping’s 255-metre-long, 68-metre-wide MV Xin Guang Hua came to Vlissingen for demobilisation; the removal of 42 grills from the deck and repositioning of the ship’s four buoyancy chambers.
“It has been a bit of a search this year as the commercial market became a bit quieter. The ships make fewer logistical movements and therefore require less maintenance and repairs,” Michiel explains. “The superyachts continue steadily. We have a number of multi-year contracts and we have managed to secure repeat customers as well. Of course, we are always looking for new customers, because diversification is always a good thing.”
MV Xin Guang Hua came to Vlissingen for demobilisation.
In between the larger projects, there were numerous repair and maintenance jobs for regular customers such as Van Oord, Multraship, and Chemgas. Currently, Van Oord’s new cable-laying vessel Calypso is at the yard. The ship was christened in September last year and then came to Vlissingen to be finished. There was also a nice job for dredging specialist Deme. “We reactivated the cutter suction dredger Amazone. The vessel had not been in use for a while, but is now being used for dredging work at the Terneuzen lock,” says Michiel. “We carried out a thorough overhaul and some essential repairs, including a period in dry dock, and now she is ready for use again.”
Another highlight of 2023 was the shore power facility with increased capacity that DSV commissioned for dry dock 1. The shore power allows docked ships to get their power directly from shore, eliminating the need to rent and use temporary generator sets. The first ship to benefit from the new facility was the HNLMS Friesland and now there is a superyacht moored there that uses the new power supply.
"We have a good team and, despite the changing of the guard, we are ensuring the continuity of the company.” Michiel de Vlieger
The company also invested in eight humidifiers in ten-foot containers that can help create the optimal conditions for the many complex painting jobs for superyachts. “We currently have two superyachts in dock for their major winter overhaul where the superstructure will be completely painted. One yacht is in Dock 1 and the other in our covered Dock 2. Both yachts are encased in a tent, but it is interesting to see the differences when painting. Paint dries best in warm, slightly humid air, which is why we have invested in humidifiers. We blow warm air through the containers and mix in mist water, creating the warm humid air that is optimal for drying the paint. It is interesting to see that in Dock 2 it is easier to keep conditions constant.”
During the summer, DSV carried out maintenance on the dock door of dry dock 1.
Looking to the future
For 2024, DSV has a number of large bids outstanding, including for a 155-metre yacht. “The question is how those will fall in the next year,” Michiel says. “There is still plenty in the market. For instance, we get a lot of work from the offshore wind industry. In addition, we are already preparing for the arrival of HNLMS Rotterdam, which will come to Vlissingen in late 2024, maybe early 2025 for her sixth period of Appointed Maintenance. That will be a big project that we are already looking forward to.”
And there is another big thing on the agenda for DSV: on 3 September, it will be 60 years since Queen Juliana opened the new repair yard of Koninklijke Maatschappij de Schelde under the name Scheldepoort. “That obviously needs to be celebrated and we are looking at how we will do that,” Michiel says. “I went into the archives and found a porcelain commemorative tile that was presented in honour of the opening. I also found plans on how they wanted the yard to grow: there are drawings for four or five docks and three floating docks. It is very interesting and I am curious to see what else we will find out.”
Queen Juliana arrives by ferry to officially open the new Scheldepoort shipyard in 1964.
According to Michiel, the biggest challenge of the coming years will be finding enough technical staff. “Some of our most experienced staff will retire in the coming years and it is our job to find the right people to whom they can hand over the baton. We have hired a recruiter especially for this purpose, Tirza Basting, who will hopefully help us find the right people.”
Another challenge is the security of staff and visitors in the yard. “Our procedures have been tested and our people are careful, but a shipyard is still a dangerous place. If something happens, it is often immediately serious. Fortunately, we haven’t had any major incidents this year and we are doing everything we can with the whole team to keep it that way.”
He concludes with: “It has been a dynamic time and it has been a year dominated by certain changes. It is my job to maintain the company’s direction and to monitor its continuity.”