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For Damen Shiprepair Vlissingen (DSV), the corona crisis has not brought exclusively bad news. Commercial Manager Michiel de Vliegher notes that Dutch and German customers who usually have their ship repaired far away are now more inclined to place the order closer to home.
“There is a tendency now for people to be very concerned with questions such as: where can repairs reasonably be carried out,” says Michiel. “As a customer, you naturally want to be able to send your own technical inspector to that site in the certainty that he can also return home without too many problems.”
"The Netherlands is really a maritime hub,”
Shipping companies are therefore looking closer to home. “We see that ships sailing in the south that were usually maintained in Spain or Portugal before the corona crisis, now remain in the Netherlands or neighbouring countries. It’s the same story for ships sailing in the north. Instead of Poland, shipping companies, for example, prefer to go to DSV in Vlissingen, despite the fact that they pay more per man-hour on the bottom line. ”
This is a development that, according to Michiel, was borne out of necessity: “Shipping companies buy security.”
Another advantage of docking a ship at DSV, is that parts and stocks in the Netherlands remain available without problems even in corona time. “In that respect, the Netherlands is really a maritime hub,” says Michiel. “In Rotterdam there are still enough regular parts available on demand, partly because there is often a good connection with sub-suppliers.”
The fact that shipowners buy security does mean that the orders they place are often more modest in size. “In these uncertain times, it is understandable that they are cautious about making large investments, so applications for very large projects are less common, it usually involves regular, regional work. We, as Damen Shiprepair Vlissingen, carry out repairs and maintenance and we convert ships, especially for the latter projects with a longer breath, the requests decreased in the past six months, while repair and maintenance showed an upward trend. Examples include the work on the Royal Klipper (a Seatrade reefer), the heavy cargo vessel Happy Ranger of Spliethoff Group Amsterdam – after 22 years back in Vlissingen where it was built at De Schelde – the Scheveningen freezer trawler Africa of Rederij Jaczon and also many support vessels for the emerging wind energy sector. ”
These are not all gigantic projects in terms of scope, but enough in order to expect to close this financial year positively, all the more since two major refits of yachts are due for DSV at the end of 2020. “So we do feel corona, but fortunately we have been able to reduce the effects to a minimum economically, also through our ability to respond quickly and flexibly to matters that come to us unexpectedly.”
Working on smaller projects also offers the advantage that it is somewhat easier to observe the 1.5 metre rule, says the Commercial Manager. “We go on board with fewer subcontractors and hired people and we carry out the work as much as possible within our own team. In this way you can also show the customer that you are a ‘good family man’ and complete the assignment as safely as possible.”