Albanian Coast Guard takes delivery of first locally buit Damen patrol vessel

JULY 17, 2012 — The Pashaliman Shipyard, Vlorë, Albania, has delivered the Oriku, the second of four Damen Stan Patrol (SPa) 4207  vessels that it is building for the Albanian Coast Guard. A third, the Lisus, is currently under construction,

The four vessels were ordered by the Albanian Ministry of Defense to execute patrol duties and Search and rescue missions in  territorial waters. The first of the series was built in the Netherlands and delivered in August 2008 as part of a project carried out under a Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs program aimed at supporting sustainable investment in infrastructural projects in developing countries.

The project also included  reconstruction of the Vlorë Naval Shipyard and the building of a new assembly hall, in which vessels as large as 60 meters can be constructed. Both projects were handled by Damen Services.

Under the Damen Technical Cooperation (DTC) concept the complete, prefabricated material packages for the construction hall and the patrol vessel were sent to Albania. The well-proven and standardized material packages can be used to build a Damen-designed vessel according to the builder’s own wishes and requirements and at a shipyard in the customers’ country. Often, these building kits’ include instruction and supervision from Damen teams during assembly, as was the case with this project.

During the project’s first year, an eight person Damen team remained on site in Vlorë to train and assist the Albanian personnel in the building process. The transfer of Damen working skills to local workers was a key factors in the success of the project. In order to enhance their skills several Albanian teams visited Damen’s HQ in Gorinchem (The Netherlands) to receive intensive training and instruction. On return, they trained their colleagues. The result of this knowledge transfer is that all one hundred people currently working at the Vlorë shipyard are now qualified and, where applicable, certified. They have mastered a wide range of specializations in construction techniques, including in steel, aluminum or electrics.