Hung Hua Construction Co. Ltd. of Taiwan has placed an order for two of Damen’s latest fast crew supply vessel; the FCS 2710. The contract was signed at the end of January and the vessels will be built at Damen Shipyards Singapore for delivery in early 2020.

Hung Hua Construction (HHC) is Taiwan’s largest dredging and nearshore construction company and recently has become involved in Taiwan’s fast-growing offshore wind sector. With a government target of 5.5GW by the end of 2025 there is plenty of work to be done with ten sites off Taiwan’s west coast currently under development. Following its successful installation of the first offshore project in Taiwan; the Southern Weather Observation Tower for the Taiwan Power Company, HHC is now looking ahead to the next phase of their mutual cooperation by supplying them with fast crew transfer and support services.

From left to right: Michiel Hendrikx (Sales Manager Asia Pasific, Damen Shipyards Group), Mr. Chung-Pang Chen (General Manager Hung Hua Construction Co. Ltd.)
From left to right: Michiel Hendrikx (Sales Manager Asia Pasific, Damen Shipyards Group), Mr. Chung-Pang Chen (General Manager Hung Hua Construction Co. Ltd.)
The twin-hulled FCS 2710 with its Damen trademark Axe Bow is just one metre longer and extends just one metre higher above the waterline than its best-selling predecessor the FCS 2610. However, it can carry twice as many personnel as well as offer more flexibility, more tank capacity, greater usable deck space, increased comfort and more accommodation. The extra metre above the water also allows the vessel to operate in wave heights of above two metres. This substantially increases the range of weather conditions in which it can be at sea. The two vessels for HHC will have some additional, small changes to meet the company’s specific demands as well as optimise them for local Taiwanese requirements and conditions. 

Michiel Hendrikx, Sales Manager Asia-Pacific for Damen Shipyards Group, commented: “We are very excited with this contract for the construction and delivery of these two, state-of-the-art vessels to Hung Hua Construction in Taiwan and value the trust they have shown in Damen by placing this order with us.  We have been following the developments in the Taiwanese offshore wind sector for some time and it now looks very promising with many projects starting in 2019 and 2020. 

“The FCS 2710 is proving to be very successful in the offshore wind market in Europe and we are sure that she will also perform well in Taiwan’s local waters which can be quite harsh and rough. We are also confident that the market in Asia will have more demand for this type of vessel in the future and so we have decided to start series production of the FCS 2710 in Singapore with two more vessels to be ready for delivery in 2020.” 

“We are pleased to announce our order of two Damen FCS 2710 CTVs which will be the latest and most state-of-the-art design of CTV in Asia,” added Mr. Polin Chen, Assistant to the President at Hung Hua Construction. “Being the first private company to invest in offshore vessels in Taiwan, we, Hung Hua, are confident and determined to build up local capacity for Taiwan’s offshore wind industry. We have full confidence in Damen’s impressive track record, quality and reliable services. That’s why we chose Damen, and soon we will be expanding our fleet by up to eight CTVs.”