New MD at Damen Shipyards Singapore

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Jongen damenJULY 11, 2012 — Maarten Jongen is to be Managing Director of Damen Shipyards Singapore (DSSi) from March 2012. He will focus on marketing, services and further improving efficiency at the yard, which has been building aluminum Damen vessels since 2000,when it became part of the Damen Shipyards Group.

Mr. Jongen (35) originally joined Damen in 2002 straight from Delft University of Technology in the Netherland), where he studied naval architecture and marine technology. He has several years of experience in the Asian market, having served as Regional Sales Manager Asia Pacific, since 2007.

Though Damen Shipyards Singapore already enjoys a strong reputation for efficiency, Mr. Jongen’s major aim is to make Damen Shipyards Singapore into an even more efficient production yard.

“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.”

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

DSSi specializes in building aluminum vessels of up to 55 m, repairs and conversions. Additionally, it offers maintenance for aluminum and GRP vessels.

Its product portfolio includes 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 ,” says 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 percent more economical.

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 built products, such as offshore vessels and tugs.

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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