In week eleven, the SAL Heavy Lift vessel MV Lone loaded onboard a newly built batch of eleven Damen flat top Pontoons in Shanghai. MV Lone is bringing the pontoons to the Netherlands. The majority of the pontoons will be available quickly to Damen’s clients from stock. Mr. Maximillian Karp, Senior Chartering Manager at SAL Heavy Lift said, “We are pleased to have found once again the opportunity to cooperate with Damen and tender our flag ship MV Lone for this transport.”
Two of the pontoons have been sold already to a client in the Netherlands. The pontoons have diverse applications in civil construction projects, fish farms, heavy lift, dredging and renewable energy operations amongst other things.
In total there are nine Stan Pontoons on board the vessel of the types Stan Pontoon 4111, Stan Pontoon 5211, Stan Pontoon 4113, Stan Pontoon 5213, Stan Pontoon 6313, Stan Pontoon 6120 and , Stan Pontoon 7220. These units are built for stock and are available to clients for direct delivery. The vessel is expected to arrive in week 16.
As well as the Stan Pontoons, there are two Spill Pontoons, which have been already been sold to Damen’s client, Amsterdam-based Maja Stevedoors. These pontoons will limit the spill of dry bulk materials in the Port of Amsterdam during transshipment operations. These Spill Pontoons are purpose built for the client and feature specific features to control and handle dry bulk materials on the pontoon. Such a feature is based on the client’s wish to optimise environmental sustainability in its operations.
The idea of bringing the pontoons to the Netherlands on board a heavy lift transport is explained by Damen Product Director Pontoons and Barges Frank Koppelaar:
“We have identified that there is a demand pontoons in Europe. Bringing them here means we have them ready for the fastest possible delivery when our clients need them. Additionally, shipping multiple units on a heavy lift vessel is very cost efficient, which means we are able to offer our clients a competitive price per unit.”
This is a very effective means of transporting large numbers of vessels around the world and one that Damen has used successfully on multiple occasions for various sectors of the maritime industry.
Source: Damen