Volharding secures healthy orderbook

Following a recent intake of newbuilding orders valued at $273 million, the Dutch shipbuilder Volharding Shipyards has sufficient work to keep most of its yards busy until mid 2006. In addition, Volharding, which is the second largest shipbuilding group in the Netherlands operating multiple shipbuilding facilities, will soon be entering into a joint venture with a Chinese shipbuilder. The group which has facilities in Foxhol, Waterhuizen, Groningen, Eemshaven and Harlingen, currently has over 30 ships on order that will be delivered over the next three year period.

The new orders comprise of a series of important vessels. The shipyard De Merwede, in Hardinxveld, is cooperating with Volharding to build two large ships costing $87.5 million. In addition, the Foxhol yard has won an order for a bunker tanker, three 750TEU container ships, four 14,000DWT IMO II chemical tankers of a new design and four multi-purpose dry cargo ships. The latter will be built in China with Volharding providing the design and engineering skills together with equipment from European manufacturers. The hulls of the boxships and tankers, on the other hand, will be constructed overseas with the fitting out being done at Foxhol.

The tankers were ordered by W-O, part of the Wessels? group of companies based in Haren, Germany, and the contract includes options for two more ships of the same design. Volharding?s innovative and pioneering engineering efforts, combined with WO?s market assessment, resulted in a unique design for a highly flexible modern tanker that optimizes cargo lift and complies with the needs of major traders, oil and chemical companies, as well as latest regulations. The new tanker series, nicknamed IceCube Class, is specially designed with a high cubic capacity (19,000cub. metres), Ice Class IA, shallow draft and special length restrictions.