The Damen Shipyard Group (Damen) is a third-generation, family-owned shipyard headquartered in the Netherlands that has been in operation for over 90 years and is the world’s foremost purveyor of maritime solutions. Through design, construction, conversion and repair of ships and ship components, Damen has delivered more than 7,000 vessels worldwide, including the delivery of a variety of vessels to Canadian customers including Seaspan, SAAM, Group Ocean, and BC Ferries. Providing responsive and comprehensive warranty and lifecycle support to its clients is a priority focus for Damen, and to achieve its goals, Damen has strategically located Service Hubs around the world.
Point Hope Maritime, on Victoria’s upper harbour, is proud to support Damen’s Canadian Service Hub. This strategic partnership began with roots in a service agreement in 2019. With the onset of Covid 19 preventing travel, Damen turned to a team from Point Hope Maritime to support them. During this period, under the agreement, Point Hope Maritime received the first of six Damen-built Island Class BC Ferries for re-commissioning. These battery-equipped vessels feature new hybrid technology and provided an excellent opportunity for Point Hope Maritime’s personnel to gain new expertise while seamlessly integrating their skills to support Damen’s personnel on the ground. All warranty work, repair, and maintenance services for these Island Class ferries is now performed locally at Point Hope Maritime in partnership with the Damen Service Hub. For Point Hope Maritime, the opportunity to provide local customer care that meets Damen’s standards of professional excellence supports important jobs in B.C. and allows for valuable knowledge transfer.
“Although we are a foreign family-owned business, we choose to work with local suppliers as much possible,” explained Jurriaan Jellema, Service Hub Manager for Canada. “Building vessels abroad is one thing, however, over the lifetime of the vessels, quality services and maintenance need to be provided. Sharing knowledge about these vessels with local parties is therefore important for us and our customers. In collaboration with Point Hope Maritime, we are privileged to be supporting some of Damen’s most innovative vessels, and we are very pleased to be an integral part of the delivery of services that ensure these state-of-the-art vessels perform at their very best, to encourage others to embrace the new technology.”
In 2021, Jurriaan Jellema and his wife moved from The Netherlands to Victoria to formally establish a Damen Service Hub partnership with Point Hope Maritime. Under this strategic partnership, more than 20 new Damen-built vessels have received maintenance and repair services from the Damen Service Hub with the support of Point Hope Maritime. “Our partnership collaboration with Point Hope aligns with shared priorities of sustainability and technology innovation and creates important local opportunities for knowledge transfer and skill development while strengthening local lifecycle support during the lifetime of the vessels.”
Riccardo Regosa, Point Hope Maritime’s General Manager, agrees. Having spent most of his career working with The Damen Shipyard Group before coming to Victoria, the partnership is not only mutually beneficial, but also an honour and a privilege. “For us, collaboration with the Damen Service Hub provides our Point Hope team with exposure to Damen’s leading-edge maritime innovations, new knowledge, and global expertise. Damen’s standards of customer care align with our values, and we are in full support of their goal to become the world’s most sustainable shipbuilder, an achievement that is within their grasp and will secure tomorrow for the next generation.”
Side bar: The Damen Shipyard Group www.damen.com
Family Owned & Client driven since 1927.
A team of 12,500 employees.
Over 35 shipyards across five continents.
Damen Shipyard Group, 55 companies worldwide.
More than 175 ships delivered yearly.
