Damen holds keel-laying ceremony for Nigerian Navy landing craft
On 9th December Damen Shipyards Sharjah in the UAE held a keel-laying ceremony for a landing craft for the Nigerian Navy, an LST 100, the company said in its release. The start of the vessel’s construction was attended by Nigeria’s Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas.
Damen has designed the LST 100 for a range of duties including amphibious operations, strategic transport of equipment and troops, disaster relief, evacuation operations and humanitarian assistance.
The 100-meter long roll-on-roll-off landing craft can accommodate a crew of 32 people and 16 Embarked Marine Forces (EMF) in the deckhouse. There is an additional EMF accommodation for 234 pax at mid ship below main deck. The vessel has a helicopter/UAV deck and significant space for cargo, loaded with the stern ramp, bow ramp or the 25 tons main crane.
Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, speaking at the keel-laying ceremony, said, “Today’s ceremony is a significant step towards actualising the dream of restoring the Nigerian Navy’s sea lift capability.”
“The selection of Damen was based on the track record of high quality shipbuilding capacity, engineering as well as the belief in the company’s ability to adhere at the timelines for the delivery of the ship.”
“As we say in the Nigerian Navy ‘onward together’.”
The LST 100 is scheduled for delivery in 2022.
Damen Shipyards Group
Damen Shipyards Group operates 36 shipbuilding and repair yards, employing 12,000 people worldwide. Damen has delivered more than 6,500 vessels in more than 100 countries and delivers around 175 vessels annually to customers worldwide. Based on its unique, standardised ship-design concept Damen is able to guarantee consistent quality.
Damen’s focus on standardisation, modular construction and keeping vessels in stock leads to short delivery times, low ‘total cost of ownership’, high resale values and reliable performance. Furthermore, Damen vessels are based on thorough R&D and proven technology.
Damen offers a wide range of products, including tugs, workboats, naval and patrol vessels, high speed craft, cargo vessels, dredgers, vessels for the offshore industry, ferries, pontoons and superyachts.
For nearly all vessel types Damen offers a broad range of services, including maintenance, spare parts delivery, training and the transfer of (shipbuilding) know-how. Damen also offers a variety of marine components, such as nozzles, rudders, winches, anchors, anchor chains and steel works.
Damen Shiprepair & Conversion (DSC) has a worldwide network of eighteen repair and conversion yards of which twelve are located in North West Europe. Facilities at the yards include more than 50 floating (and covered) drydocks, including the longest, 420 x 80 metres, and the widest, 405 x 90 metres, as well as slopes, ship lifts and indoor halls. Projects range from the smallest simple repairs through Class’ maintenance to complex refits and the complete conversion of large offshore structures. DSC completes around 1,300 repair and maintenance jobs annually, both at yards as well as in ports and during voyage.
