From the naming ceremony*
Naming ceremony held at Damen Shipyards Cape Town
The second of two Damen Shoalbuster 3009 multi-purpose workboats for SMIT Amandla Marine has been named in a ceremony at Damen Shipyards Cape Town, South Africa. With De Beers Group Services the end client, the Lady Sponsor for the occasion was Mrs Adri Nelson, Supply Chain Centre Manager for De Beers Group Services in Port Nolloth. Mrs Nelson has been integral to the newbuild programme in her role of managing the Northern Cape based supply chain centre for De Beers.
Named the Aogatoa, the vessel is the second of two Shoalbusters 3009 ordered by SMIT Amandla Marine for the De Beers contract and built at Damen Shipyards Cape Town (DSCT). The first, the Aukwatowa, was delivered in December 2015. Throughout both builds, DSCT has had the full cooperation of Damen Shipyards Hardinxveld, the yard behind the development of this class. The Dutch yard has transferred the necessary technology and provided full support to ensure a top quality end result.
The Shoalbuster range of multi-purpose, shallow draught workboats is designed for all types of operations in inland and coastal waters. The 30-metre 3009S has a bollard pull of 24.5 tonnes and is fitted with a crane with a lifting capacity of up to 1.7 tonnes, making it suitable for towage, buoy-laying, pushing and all-round support duties. These new vessels will carry out supply and support work for the De Beers Group’s offshore diamond mining activities out of Port Nolloth in the Northern Cape. With the shallow waters of the port making it accessible only to vessels with draughts of 2.8 metres or less, the minimal draught of the Shoalbuster was an important factor in SMIT Amandla selecting the class.
Damen Shoalbuster 3009 Aogatoa Naming Ceremony
During their time at the yard the construction of the two vessels made a significant contribution to the local economy with 180 employees employed locally working on the projects and with many of the materials also sourced locally. In addition, 13 apprentices both male and female also played an important part in the build, between them accumulating over 30, 000 hours of on the job training as a result. This was delivered by DSCT’s acclaimed merSETA-accredited training school.
In expressing appreciation to the De Beers Group and Smit Amandla, Sam Montsi, Chairman of DSCT, said: “I am confident that the delivery of this, the second of the two shoalbusters, will conclusively demonstrate to the regional shipping industry that, given the opportunity, DSCT can build and deliver quality vessels at a fair price.”
About Damen Shipyards Cape Town (Pty) Ltd:
Building in Africa for Africa
Damen Shipyards Cape Town (DSCT) builds ships in Africa for Africa. To date, the yard has constructed & delivered 40 vessels to the African continent form its base in Cape Town, including offshore patrol vessels, dredgers, tugs, naval craft and platform supply vessels, some of which have been built for stock in order to ensure fast delivery. The DSCT Services & Repairs department has provided training, delivery, maintenance & repairs assistance to countries across the globe and especially to African countries seeking to source high quality services from South Africa.
Through thorough research, on-going evaluations and customer feedback, DSCT’s vessels are of the highest international quality standards and provide customers with the assurance of generations of proven high-tech commercial off-the-shelf (C.O.T.S) vessels.
DSCT has a well-established Apprenticeship Training Centre which is accredited by MerSETA and ChietaSETA. Apprentices selected for the Apprenticeship Training Centre program have the opportunity to obtain the necessary skills in order to achieve artisan status in Welding, Boiler Making, Pipe Fitting or Electrical and they are provided with a job opportunity at the same time. The first, second and third year apprentices are productive on the shop floor under the mentorship of qualified artisans until they pass their Trade Test. Once qualified, all apprentices have the opportunity to be absorbed into the business as artisans. To date, DSCT has trained 63 Apprentices of which 19 are female. DSCT’s Apprenticeship Training Centre is the true reflection of the yard’s commitment to the South African Governments economic initiative, known as Operation Phakisa, which aims to reach the potential of the South African Maritime Sector, including shipbuilding, and to accelerate economic growth and job creation.
Damen Shipyards Group
Damen Shipyards Group operates 32 shipbuilding and repair yards, employing 9, 000 people worldwide. Damen has delivered more than 6, 000 vessels in more than 100 countries and delivers some 180 vessels annually to customers worldwide. Based on its unique, standardised ship-design concept Damen is able to guarantee consistent quality.
Damen’s focus on standardisation, modular construction and keeping vessels in stock leads to short delivery times, low ‘total cost of ownership’, high resale values and reliable performance. Furthermore, Damen vessels are based on thorough R&D and proven technology.
Damen offers a wide range of products, including tugs, workboats, naval and patrol vessels, high speed craft, cargo vessels, dredgers, vessels for the offshore industry, ferries, pontoons and superyachts.
For nearly all vessel types Damen offers a broad range of services, including maintenance, spare parts delivery, training and the transfer of (shipbuilding) know-how. Damen also offers a variety of marine components, such as nozzles, rudders, anchors, anchor chains and steel works.
In addition to ship design and shipbuilding, Damen Shiprepair & Conversion has a worldwide network of 15 repair and conversion yards with dry docks ranging up to 420 x 80 metres. Conversion projects range from adapting vessels to today’s requirements and regulations to the complete conversion of large offshore structures. DSC completes around 1, 500 repair and maintenance jobs annually.
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* Full caption of picture one: Paul Maclons (Managing Director, Smit Amandla Marine), Mr William Ramutla (Director: Industrial Participation, DTI), Hennie du Plessis (Head of Supply Chain, The De Beers Group of Companies), Sam Montsi (Chairman, Damen Shipyards Cape Town), Mrs. Adri Nelson, (Manager – Supply Chain Centre Port Nolloth, The De Beers Group of Companies) Craig Coltman – (CFO, The De Beers Group of Companies), Pastor John de Beer (Joshua Generation Church).
