An important visit for Damen Naval: German Bundesrat President Manuela Schwesig recently visited the Damen Naval headquarters in Vlissingen. She arrived with an escort of nine police motorbikes and brought with her a delegation from the Bundesrat, the German embassy in The Hague and a trade delegation. The visitors were given an update on the F126 frigates that Damen Naval is currently building for the German Navy. Ms Schwesig was also given a tour of the project building and introduced to several employees on the project.

Ms Schwesig has a special interest in the F126 project as she is not only the Bundesrat President, but also the Minister President of the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. This state is home to Peene Werft in Wolgast, one of the three shipyards where the F126 frigates will be built.

It was a short visit of just two hours, but was nevertheless very valuable, says F126 Project Director Frank Verhelst. “We are always proud when we can show visitors the project we have all been working on for so long, and this was a very important and successful visit. Ms Schwesig was very enthusiastic about the VR presentation. She enjoyed being able to step on board the ship in this way. That is exactly what we want to achieve with our VR presentation.”

Part of the party was given a tour of the F126 building and in meeting room Hamburg, Ms Schwesig was given a VR demonstration aboard the F126 frigate and met some of the project’s German staff. After a traditional photo on the stairs, there was still time to exchange some gifts. Managing Director Roland Briene presented Ms Schwesig with a 1 in 400 scale model of the F126 and she in turn gifted him a stained-glass artwork symbolising the cooperation between her state and Zeeland. Ms Schwesig thanked everyone warmly for the visit. “We welcome the close cooperation between Damen Naval and the Lürssen Group in building the new frigates for the German Navy,” she said.

To overview