A happy day for ‘Happy Star’ with the single vessel completing a major logistical feat by transporting eleven Damen tugs from the shipbuilder’s yards in Vietnam and China to Europe.
Heavy lift specialist BigLift Shipping’s 156-metre Heavy Lift Vessel is equipped with two heavy lift mast cranes of 1100 mt each. The Happy Star departed Halong Bay, Vietnam, for Europe on the fourth of April and arrived 38 days later at Vigo, Spain, to unload one vessel before continuing on to Rotterdam to unload the remaining ten.
These mass deliveries do not take place often as it is rare that so many vessels are ready to be despatched at the same time. The last time this happened was in 2015 when Happy Star transported 22 vessels of various types on the same route. When possible, the advantages over delivering vessels on their own hulls include vessels and their equipment arriving in pristine condition, and the marine environment benefiting from fewer emissions with just one ship, albeit a larger one, doing all the work
“At Damen we aim to provide our clients with a holistic service that includes not only building their boats but also delivering them to where they are needed with the entire process managed by Damen experts,” says Rimmert Berlijn, Damen Services Heavylift Coordinator. “This is all part of being a total maritime solutions provider. In addition, clients taking advantage of this service also enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing that their vessels are fully covered by Damen’s warranty programme right from the start.”
Sanne Wiegerink, Commercial Manager at BigLift Shipping, describes this voyage as a shining example of Dutch excellence. “The Happy Star, one of the Netherlands’ premier heavy lift vessels, transporting tugs for a distinguished Dutch shipbuilder, ultimately serving various Dutch clients. We take immense pride in our contribution to this remarkable project.”
