DMC and C&C Marine & Repair: building four Multi Cats for the USA

Back in January 2023, Damen Marine Components (DMC) announced its first multi-vessel project for an American client. The contract was with Louisiana-based shipbuilder C&C Marine & Repair. The DMC scope was to deliver steering gear and rudders, winches and towing pin systems to four Damen Multi Cat 3013 workboats to be built by C&C Marine & Repair.

Now, just over two years on, it’s time to catch up with C&C Marine & Repair Project Manager Nick Pharis and DMC Sales Manager Ronald Beekhof to get an update on the project. With that in mind, we start by asking Nick for a quick recap of how the project is being organised.

“After buying the licences to build these four Multi Cats 3013 from Damen Technical Cooperation (DTC), we started building this series of vessels in our covered shipyard facilities in Belle Chasse, just outside New Orleans, Louisiana,” begins Nick. C&C Marine & Repair is building the four 30-metre long Multi Cats continuously. “The first vessel has been delivered and we are working on the final testing for the second vessel. The third and fourth vessels are scheduled for completion by the end of the year.”

“We are solely responsible for the construction of the vessels and the installation of the equipment: this is a Damen design, but very much a C&C Marine build,” Nick explains. “However, if I have any specific technical questions, I can definitely approach DTC or DMC for advice.”

Nick describes the Multi Cat 3013 as a “technical build”. This, he says, is due to the multi-functional nature of this renowned Damen design. “This Multi Cat can do more than one job so, as a shipbuilder, there is no single aspect that we have to focus on. Instead, there are multiple systems on a single vessel. This is what makes it a technical build.”

Indeed, at a glance, the Damen Multi Cat might give the impression of being just a simple workboat, but “there is a lot of high-tech equipment on board, especially considering that this is such a short vessel with a shallow draft design,” adds Ronald.

The equipment that Ronald is referring to includes the anchor handling winch. “This is probably one of the biggest attributes of this vessel. This winch is operated from the wheelhouse and works in conjunction with a hydraulic power pack. What’s more, we have added a load line measuring system to this winch. This is extremely beneficial whenever you are working on anchor handling operations.”

DMC’s scope includes a forward facing anchor handling winch and aft facing towing winch (which in combination with for example an A-frame could be used for ploughing), and towing pin systems which work together to yield two critical advantages, as Nick explains. “The towing pin keeps the towing wire at a specific spot in the vessel’s centre line. This gives more control during towing operations and also provides a greater area of safe deck space as it prevents the towing wire sweeping around the deck.”

Additional scope from DMC includes tugger winches, hydraulic steering gear, rudder assembly, Optima nozzles and wheelhouse controls. Furthermore, the four Multi Cats 3013 that C&C Marine & Repair is building will be equipped with two Heila cranes per vessel.

Nick sees great potential for the Multi Cat in the USA. “As far as what the Multi Cat 3013 offers, it is truly a multipurpose platform. You can support operations of a larger dredging vessel with one package. You can pull the anchors; you can tow pipe or the dredger itself; you can lift really anything that you need to lift. And for the crew, it provides a nice safe platform to work from for normal day-to-day operations. This could be in the dredging sector; maintaining the depth of the ports, channels and rivers is very important to international trade, for example. Coastal restoration is another important aspect of the dredging market here. But it could also have a role to play in the offshore wind market or any coastal salvage operations.”

This view is shared by Ronald too: “Looking at the proven and longstanding achievements of this design in European maritime sectors, Damen and DMC believe that the Multi Cat will be a game changer in the American market.”

As this project marks the first time that DMC and C&C Marine & Repair are working together, we have one final question for Nick and Ronald. How would they describe their working relationship?

Ronald answers first: “We don’t see this as a buyer/seller relationship. We see us as providing solutions; we achieve this with openness and honesty, helping wherever necessary. This is the Damen mindset of quality and service that has helped us during the building of these vessels.”

Nick replies: “It’s always a safe bet to go with the same company who designed the vessel to also provide the components. This has given us an extra level of comfort that everything is going to be provided correctly. They have a lot of experience in this specific environment and they respond to any questions I have very quickly: things are taken care of. DMC and C&C Marine share a common goal on this project – to work in an effective and efficient manner to build the design that operates to the full capabilities of the vessel – and we are working together to achieve it.”