Scope: design, produce and deliver shock-proof rudder systems for Damen-built ASWF series

Damen Marine Components has received the order to design, engineer and produce eight rudders for the four Anti-Submarine Warfare Frigates that Damen Naval is building for the Belgian and Dutch Navies. Each vessel will be equipped with two rudders, developed to be resilient and to improve the hydrodynamic properties of the vessels that will be used for the defence and security of both countries.

The ASWFs will replace the M-Frigate class vessels as of 2029. In addition to surface and sub-surface duties for monitoring or repelling submarines, these four ships will be deployed for several other (inter)national tasks. The vessels are built and outfitted on Damen Naval shipyards in Romania and the Netherlands in close collaboration with the Dutch and Belgian Ministries of Defence, navies and suppliers.

As the focus is on anti-submarine duties, much attention goes into creating vessels that sail as silent as possible, for example as to propulsion, pumps and moving parts. This is where DMC’s range of naval products comes into play, especially the Atlantic type family of rudders, which have also been installed on earlier frigates and are adapted to their specific operational profile.

A special requirement for naval operations is that the whole vessel, including the rudders, needs to be built to shock resistant specifications. The eight new rudders are designed to withstand shock loads. DMC has strengthened critical areas and has applied special welding details, based on both experience and extensive calculations.

“All of us at DMC are proud to be able to contribute to these ultra-modern vessels,” says Ronald Beekhof, Sales Manager at DMC.“Being part of this high-profile Damen Naval project – together with many other Dutch suppliers – means that we can truly show our capacity to deliver equipment and systems fit for top-tier vessels. I want to thank Damen Naval and the Dutch and Belgian navies for their trust, and my colleagues for their professionalism in securing this deal. This is a real team effort – engineers, sales, QA-QC, and production in Gdansk. Both in a technical and commercial sense, this is a great package and we are looking forward to serve other navies as well.”