Damen Shipyards Singapore: New Managing Director

Mr Maarten Jongen has officially been appointed Managing Director of Damen Shipyards Singapore (DSSi) from March 2012. In his new role Mr Jongen will focus on marketing, services and further improving efficiency at the yard that has been building (aluminium) Damen vessels since 2000. DSSi has been part of the Damen Shipyards Group since 2000.

Mr Jongen (35) originally joined Damen in 2002 straight from Delft University of Technology (The Netherlands) where he studied Naval Architecture and Marine Technology. He has several years of experience in the Asian market through his last position, since 2007, as Regional Sales Manager Asia Pacific.

Efficiency

Mr Jongen’s major aim is to make Damen Shipyards Singapore into an even more efficient production yard, even though the South East Asian yard already enjoys a strong reputation for efficiency. “The cost price should be as low as possible, while maintaining Damen’s proven quality of course,” he says. “The construction of larger series of vessels enables us to evaluate and improve our production processes in a better way compared to when we are building one-offs. Our emphasis on environmentally friendly production and safety is added to this and will improve the level both our efficiency and quality.”

Local sourcing

The shipyard will also start sourcing and purchasing locally more than it has done in the past. In addition, DSSi will be carrying out detailed engineering of vessels, so it can customise and tailor-make standard built vessels to specific client requests.

Portfolio

DSSi specialises in building aluminium vessels of up to 55 m, repairs and conversions. Additionally, the yard offers maintenance for aluminium and Glass Reinforced Polyester (GRP) vessels. It has a broad ranging product portfolio including Fast Ferries, water taxis, Fast Crew Suppliers, catamarans, high-speed craft, workboats and patrol vessels. If required DSSi can subcontract steel hulled vessels and do the outfitting and commissioning in Singapore as has been the case for several 50m crew boats.

Currently, a monohull ferry for the local Singapore market is being designed in close cooperation with the Damen head office in The Netherlands. “This low-cost ferry is specifically designed for the local market and complies with latest regulations on safety. Important improvements in comfort and fuel economy are to be expected by using the latest design developments within the Damen Group”, adds Mr Jongen.

The shipyard has two covered building halls, already has the ISO9001 certificate and it is presently working on ISO14001 and Occupational Health and Safety (OHSAS) 18001 program. Recently the yard has reduced its environmental footprint by installing low energy lighting, which is 80% more economical.

Expanding team

With a 280-strong staff (including subcontractors), DSSi has a capacity of around 10-15 vessels a year. Recently, Ms Christine Yap joined DSSi as dedicated Singapore Sales Manager. She will be liaising with clients in Singapore and in addition handle sales for non-Singapore build products, such as offshore vessels and tugs.

Services hub

Like Damen Shipyards Cape Town and other strategic Damen shipyards around the world, Singapore is also a Damen Services hub. As well as having a considerable spare parts store, the Services portfolio will also be expanding its after-sales support from Singapore, with the yard looking to employ local field engineers to deliver high quality maintenance for the entire lifecycle of the vessel.

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Dredging Today Staff, July 11, 2012; Images: DAMEN