Article Posted on : - Jun 09, 2016

Multi Role Auxiliary Vessel 3600. Photo: DAMEN

LONDON (BNS): Damen Shipyards Group has announced the introduction of a new range of Multi-Role Auxiliary Vessels (MRAV) at the Oceanographic Survey Vessel Conference held in London.

With the addition of supplementary modular mission equipment, this new family of Damen vessels can be mobilised in numerous, mainly littoral, naval tasks such as: explosive ordnance clearance and disposal, diving operations, torpedo recovery and overhaul, ROV and UAV deployment, SAR, coastal infantry and submarine support, the Company said.

The largest version of the range will be able to operate worldwide, on the ocean as well as in littoral waters. This ship has additional capabilities such as disaster and humanitarian relief, oceanography and naval training support.

The introduction of flexible concepts which allow as many functions as possible to be included into a range of smaller vessels without reducing the effectiveness and capacity of the fleet while maintaining the benefits of modularity; this is Damen's ambition with this new family of vessels, it said.

"To this end, plug-and-play containerised kit for many support tasks contribute considerable adaptability to a particular mission," explains Damen Shipyards Gorinchem's Principal Naval Advisor Jan van der Burg, a retired Vice Admiral of the Royal Netherlands Navy.

The new range of vessels consists of three different designs: the MRAV 660, MRAV 1600 and MRAV 3600 and epending on a naval client's specific requirements, any type of hydrographic equipment can be integrated into these three vessels, it added.