Dutch minister visits Cape Town shipyards

The Dutch Minister for Agriculture and Foreign Trade, Henk Bleker, visited Damen Shipyards Cape Town (DSCT), as part of a three-day mission to Kenya, Mozambique and South Africa. DSCT builds offshore patrol vessels, dredgers, tugs, naval craft and platform supply vessels, especially for clients on the African continent.

Bleker's visit aims at looking for new ways of improving African economies, especially the maritime and agricultural industries. As part of his mission, Minister Bleker signed a letter of intent between the Port of Saldanha and the Port of Rotterdam's Environmental Protection Agency (DCMR).

Since Damen took over the shipyards three years ago, it has built 15 dredgers, tugs and workboats, and its order book is filled until June 2012. DSCT's managing director, Frank Rebel, said that the shipyards follow two main policies that encompass both business goals and social aspects: on the business side, DSCT seeks long term growth in South Africa and the sub-Sahara region. "Socially," he added, "we strive to be an integral part of the Cape Town community, our in-house training centre [is] an example [of this]."

Read the full article on www.dredgingtoday.com.