Damen wins first German FCS 2710 contract

Damen Shipyards Group has won a contract with Hamburg-based Opus Marine to supply a Fast Crew Supplier (FCS) 2710, the first such deal to be signed in Germany. The vessel, to be called Allegro, will support charterers in the offshore wind sector, operating in the German section of the North Sea.

Delivery of the new vessel is due to take place in March. As the contract was being signed, construction of the Allegro was already in progress.

The vessel is the latest development of the FCS 2610, a service vessel in the offshore wind sector. About 50 are currently in service, including one – Verdi – in Opus Marine’s crew transfer fleet.

Design developments incorporated into the FCS 2710 include additional deck space, tank capacity and accommodation. The vessel is based on the same Twin Axe bow arrangement, ensuring good seakeeping in rough seas, but an additional one-metre freeboard enables the latest version to operate in significant wave heights of more than 2m. This development increases uptime, Damen said.

Opus Marine managing director, Bernhard Messer, noted that providing the best crew transfer service to clients requires the best boats. “Damen has proven itself to be an impressively reliable partner with an outstanding back office performance and technical support throughout.”

Speaking for the shipyard group, sales manager Joschka Boddeling said: “We are very happy that this project, which has been in the pipeline for some time, has now matured. Working with Opus Marine, who in 2015 pioneered the 24-pax FCS 2610 in Germany, is something that we greatly value. Introducing the improved successor in the German market is something that we wish Bernhard and his team much success with.”

Opus Marine is a subsidiary of the Zeitfracht Group, a third-generation, family-owned company specialising in logistics and trade.