Damen’s domination of the Caribbean Coast Guard market continues with the commissioning of a Damen SPa 4207 – the Captain Hugh Mulzac – by the St Vincent and the Grenadines Coast Guard Service.
This vessel is the largest and most capable vessel ever delivered to the SVG Coast Guard Service and marks a significant step forward for that service. The SPa 4207 has been sold to Jamaica. Barbados and the Bahamas.
In ten years, from 2006 to 2016, the Coast Guards of Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas and Trinidad & Tobago would have been virtually totally re-equipped with Damen patrol vessels in the 30 to 50 metre length range.
It is not just the Commonwealth Caribbean that has proven to be a ready market for Damen products, but the Coast Guards of Canada, Mexico, Honduras, Ecuador, Venezuela and the United States have made large purchases of Damen designed vessels, although in the cases of the United States, Canada and Mexico, the vessels are locally made. Of these ships, the US Coast Guard Sentinel class Fast Response Cutter (SPa 4708), with 58 being planned for induction, marks the largest class of coastal patrol vessels in the entire Western hemisphere.
The popularity of Damen vessels in the region is surprising considering the decidedly modest capabilities of the basic vessels. Building to standard designs (known as Standard Patrol or SPa), Damen’s construction process enables vessels to be fabricated in virtual kit form and assembled and integrated in a relatively short space of time.
Cover image: Captain Hugh Mulzac – Photo Credit iWN
