Damen Shipyards Group and Maritime Craft Services (Clyde) Ltd (MCS) have signed a contract for the supply by Damen of one of its popular Shoalbuster 2711 multi-purpose workboats. The contract was signed at the recent Seawork 2024 event in Southampton and the vessel will be delivered this summer.

MCS is based in Fairlie on the west coast of Scotland. Owned by the Kuyt family, it is managed by Nikki and Menno, children of the founder Dirk. The company owns what will be an eighteen-strong fleet of workboats once its latest addition is delivered, and operates worldwide with an emphasis on western Europe and the Middle East. The company is a long-standing customer of Damen Shipyards. The new vessel, to be named Heather 2, will be the company’s third Shoalbuster and will join eleven Fast Crew Suppliers and Multi Cats built by Damen.

The Shoalbuster 2711 is similar in size to the Damen Multi Cat 2712 that MCS acquired last November. However, the prominent bow makes it more suitable for offshore projects and so opens up other possibilities. As with all Shoalbusters, it designed for shallow waters (three metres maximum draft), making it ideal for assisting dredging and cable laying, as well as other wind farm support operations. Key features include 41 tonnes bollard pull and a top speed of 11 knots.

The optimised deck layout has low freeboard for easy access to the water and the Heather 2 will be fitted with an AKC 185 deck crane and a waterfall winch. The vessel will also be fitted with a Damen Marine NOx Reduction System to make her IMO Tier III certified. “We are very pleased that MCS have returned to Damen once again for their latest acquisition, especially as we share core values that include sustainability and operational excellence,” said Mike Besijn, Sales Manager at Damen Shipyards. “We are confident that their new Shoalbuster will have a role to play in supporting the expansion of the offshore wind sector around the world as well as other near-shore activities, and will be a valuable asset for many years to come.”