The “Manila Amendments” were adopted at a Diplomatic Conference in Manila, the Philippines, held in June 2010, and are aimed at ensuring that the necessary global standards will be in place to train and certify seafarers to operate technologically-advanced ships for some time to come.

In the beginning of the 21stcentury the “Axe Bow Concept” was developed, a hull shape with unparallelled seakeeping characteristics. Based on this concept, Damen has developed the “Sea Axe” Patrol Vessels and Fast Crew Suppliers.

Navis Engineering has been contracted by Dutch integrator Alphatron Marine to supply nine DP1 systems for the innovative ‘Sea Axe Fast Crew Suppliers’, currently under construction at Damen Shipyards in Gorinchem.

Standing on “the bridge” of one of Maine Maritime Academy’s new ship simulators, it’s easy to become immersed by the sights and sounds of New York Harbor as skyscrapers and the Statue of Liberty roll by on the 12 “windows” surrounding the helm.

In fact, some people find the experience a bit too immersing.

The DP vessel is designed for world-wide operations with a focus on pre-piling and jacket/tripod/transition piece installation for the offshore wind industry in North Europe. Different deck layouts, based upon NorWind Installer’s installation experience from Alpha Ventus, have been developed for the various installation modes on top of the generic vessel platform provided by ULSTEIN.