Damen and High Speed Transfers Ltd (HST) have signed a contract for a third FCS 2710 fast crew supply vessel, for delivery in September this year. The FCS 2710 is the replacement for Damen’s highly successful FCS 2610 and was first shown to the world in July 2018 with HST as the lead customer. Effectively a complete redesign bringing with it a range of new capabilities and features, the FCS 2710 is capable of carrying twice as many passengers - 26 - as its predecessor and is also able to operate in wave heights of more than two meters due to an extra meter of freeboard.
This latest addition to the HST fleet, to be named HST Harri, will join the HST Hudson, delivered in July 2018, and the HST Sofia, which is scheduled for delivery in March 2019. Like the HST Sofia, the HST Harri will incorporate a few small layout changes to the working areas but otherwise the original specification remains unchanged.
Based in Swansea, Wales, HST is a recent entrant to the crew transfer market but is led by a highly experienced management team with extensive experience in the offshore transfer sector.
Since its formation, the business has been doing well. “The Hudson is just about to start its next project with the same client, this time in Belgium,” says managing director Tom Nevin. “Having completed its project in the Irish Sea successfully the client has decided it wants to keep the vessel so it’s starting a new project on February 1.
“We are really happy to be adding another vessel to our fleet,” he continues, “and it’s been a great experience so far operating for us and our clients, and it’s been very well received in the wider market. Its performance has exceeded all of our expectations and so we are extremely happy to be buying a third vessel and are eager to get it into the market.”
“We’re delighted that HST has had so much success with the HST Hudson and that it has been well received by their customers,” added Arjen van Elk, Damen Sales Manager for the UK and Ireland. “With three orders within a year they are turning their ambitions into reality even quicker than we could have imagined.”
