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A quarter century marked by excellence, innovation and commitment to quality, people and community. This is how Damen Shipyards Galaţi presented its 25-year anniversary of being a member of the Damen Shipyards Group.
To mark the anniversary, several events were organised. This included an exhibition highlighting the achievements and development of the yard over the previous 25 years. Held at Shopping City Galaţi, this exhibition was open to the public between 9 and 26 August.
The most spectacular occasion was the traditional Shipbuilder’s Day party, which took place on 31 August at the shipyard premises. The program included performances from Romanian musicians Feli and Damian Drăghici in addition to Dutch band Creedence Commotion Revival. This was complemented by a drone and fireworks show and a children’s program.
A spectacular drone and fireworks show was held during the traditional Shipbuilder’s Day party.
In his speech at the Shipbuilder’s Day party, Arnout Damen, Chief Executive Officer of the Damen Group said: “Damen Shipyards Galaţi is internationally renowned – as far away as Canada – for its craftsmanship and punctual deliveries. That is thanks to the enormous dedication and commitment of my 1,500 colleagues here and the many hundreds of subcontracting staff who work here every day. In the end, it’s all about the people: about developing talent and about how we can engage and interest upcoming generations. We do that as one team, one Damen.”
As well as building ships, Damen Shipyards Galaţi is very much involved in the local community with numerous social responsibility projects. In this way, Damen has supported the local educational, healthcare, and social environment. Furthermore, the yard actively supports the Ukrainian community in Galaţi through the Help Ukrainians Association. Talking about this subject, Annelies Damen, member of the Damen Group Board of Directors, said in her speech: “We have been operating a community centre in the heart of Galaţi, a place that has become a home base for our evacuated colleagues and their families. I want to express my sincere gratitude to all our Romanian colleagues, subcontractors, and everyone in the local community who have extended their hands and hearts to our Ukrainian colleagues and their families.”
Annelies (left) and Arnout (right) Damen present an anniversary gift to Damen Galați Managing Director Doru Gaibar.
Since becoming a Damen yard in 1999, Damen Shipyards Galaţi has delivered more than 450 vessels for customers from 70 countries. This diverse portfolio includes many that are well-known to Damen employees in Vlissingen: Antarctic Research and Supply Vessel Nuyina, Joint logistic Support Ship HNLMS Karel Doorman, the Sail Training Vessel Shabab Oman II, four Corvettes for the Tunisian Navy and four Corvettes for the Pakistan Navy to name a few. Current vessels at the yard include the Combat Support Ship Den Helder and new Multi-Purpose Vessel for the Portuguese Navy.