Subscribe to the newsletter
On his first working day as Managing Director of Damen Naval, Roland Briene started by holding his first New Year’s reception. In his speech, he looked back on a successful but extremely busy 2022 and revealed some of the plans for 2023. He briefly introduced himself and explained where the desire to work at Damen Naval had originated. “I was Sales Manager for Damen Shipyards in Asia-Pacific and stood on the aft deck of one of the Diponegoro-class SIGMAs. The ship was sailing close to 30 knots and there were no vibrations. What a beautiful ship. I thought: I am now Sales Manager for Australia and New Zealand, but one day I will work in Vlissingen. And now here I am.”
At an enjoyable New Year's reception, Roland Briene introduced himself and his plans for 2023.
Damen Naval has had a busy but highly productive year. The first Landing Ship Transport (LST) was delivered to Nigeria. The 100-metre vessel was built entirely at Albwardy Damen Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. Great strides were made in the construction of the Combat Support Ship (CSS) being built in Romania for the Royal Netherlands Navy. Construction of the ship is still on schedule for delivery in 2024.
The prestigious F126 project for the German navy moved towards the detailed engineering phase and discussions are ongoing about the option for a fifth and sixth ship. At the shipyard in Vlissingen-Oost, work revolved around two major projects: the hull construction of a superyacht in a joint project with Damen Yachting as well as the Midlife Update and the Appointed Maintenance of HNLMS Johan de Witt carried out together with Damen Shiprepair Vlissingen.
LST-100 NNS Kada was delivered to Nigeria.
Roland: “When I think of the year 2022, one thing that comes to mind is the enormous workload we are all under. No matter in which department or project you work, we have all been extremely busy. All milestones were met despite the fact that we introduced two complicated software systems: SAP and 3DX. A big compliment from the entire Management Team and myself to all of you, because we met all the deadlines. But it was not easy.”
According to Roland, expectations for 2023 are no different. “This year too, there are many important milestones: a new contract for the ASW frigates, the construction of the CSS, the F126 project. All projects have deadlines that we have to meet. So that means it will be another extremely busy year.” He added: “The company has grown over the years. If you compare the company and the order book today with five years ago, we have become a completely different company. We have more than doubled the number of colleagues and the same applies to an even greater extent to the order book. The potential we have by the end of the year is huge.”
In Romania, the Combat Support Ship for the Royal Navy is taking shape.
To cope with these changes, the Management Team launched the Time for Change initiative in summer 2022, which will look at the most optimal organisational structure for the company. “Time for Change is not a miracle cure. Time for Change should ensure that we are able to execute big projects like ASW and F126, but also smaller projects like SIGMAs and LSTs,” Roland explained. “In shipbuilding terms, we are now in the ‘basic engineering phase’ and approaching the ‘detailed engineering phase’. We hope to complete this detailed engineering phase in the second quarter. This first quarter, we hope to have already come up with a tentative prediction of what the structure will look like.”
With major projects for the Royal Netherlands Navy and the German navy and more foreign projects, 2023 will be an unprecedentedly busy year. But Roland made a promise to his staff: “I am confident that we will be able to meet the challenges again in 2023. I am very much looking forward to my new position and the year ahead. I am very proud to do this and I look forward to doing it together with you.”