A Broad Ferry Portfolio, but Not in the Largest Segment

“The ferry market is broad,” Grunstra begins. “At Damen, we build fast ferries up to 40 metres, which we even keep in stock. We also deliver water buses and city ferries—an entirely different category. Larger ferries for clients such as BC Ferries, Ontario, and Toronto are built in our Romanian shipyard. The waterbuses and city ferries in Turkey and the fast ferries in Vietnam.”

However, Damen is not active in the very large RoPax segment, with vessels exceeding 200 metres. “We tried, but the competition from China made it impossible. They’ve taken over that entire segment,” he says. “The few large ferries still being built in Europe are declining. The yards just aren’t there anymore.”

The Shadow of Defence Shipbuilding

A recurring theme in the conversation is the increasing emphasis on defence shipbuilding. “Shipyards can’t just switch from commercial to military from one day to the next,” Grunstra explains. “The growing defence demand will push yards to specialise. That specialisation will make it hard to return to commercial shipbuilding.”

“There are virtually no yards that successfully build both military and commercial ships. It’s a completely different world—different people, organisations, dynamics.”

 Competitive Strength in Series Production

Damen’s strength lies in serial production. “We’re extremely competitive in tugboats and all kinds of workboats,” he says. “Once a design is established, we can deliver quickly and at high quality. That’s a major advantage.”

But Damen also thrives in custom solutions, especially where it can add value beyond price. “The ferry tender in Copenhagen is a good example. Electrification wasn’t a requirement, but we supported the client with electric propulsion and automatic charging. That helped them to go beyond and win.”

Damen has had similar successes in Ontario, BC Ferries, and Toronto, often not by being the cheapest, but by being the smartest partner.

 Political Pressure and National Sentiment

Public sentiment and political pressure often question why vessels are not built locally. Grunstra references debates in Scotland and Canada. “We offered a solution to BC Ferries to assemble vessels locally from kits, but the costs to assemble it locally are astronomical. It’s simply not viable.”

He contrasts this with defence, where such local assembly is sometimes politically justified as a return on taxpayers’ investment. “That’s politics,” he notes dryly.

 Autonomy and Digitalisation

Autonomy in ferry operations is a long-term vision, and military developments are likely to accelerate this and lead the way. “Defence has the scale and momentum,” Grunstra explains. “Ferries will benefit from that eventually.”

Yet he remains cautious: “Autonomy is often marketed as green and efficient. But that’s not necessarily true. Current systems don’t outperform a captain’s judgement—yet. They tend to ‘swerve like a drunken captain and it will still take quit some time before they outsmart a professional captain. Improving safety is another thing. For this, autonomy will definitely help and improve operations.’”

One promising development is Damen’s advisory dashboard for ferry operators. By analysing operational data, they identified potential fuel savings of up to 25% through optimised sailing behaviour.

 Cybersecurity and Data

Damen is at the forefront of remote fleet management with its Triton system. “It enables fuel monitoring, safety checks, and efficiency tracking. All data is stored securely in Microsoft’s cloud environment,” says Grunstra, highlighting that Damen has earned top-tier cybersecurity certification.

Sustainability and the Circular Economy

On the environmental front, Damen is committed to the energy transition. “Most of what we build now is electric,” Grunstra says. “For longer routes, we’re seeing requests for methanol-ready vessels.”

End-of-life recycling is also gaining attention. “It’s still in the image-building phase, but steel is infinitely recyclable, albeit energy-intensive. Carbon fibre, surprisingly, is possible to recycle, different from glass fibre which is not.

 The Market Outlook: Challenges and Opportunities

Grunstra foresees increased pressure on shipbuilding capacity and rising prices, driven by both defence demand and inflation. “Ferry orders are dramatically low, especially in larger segments. However, small urban ferries remain a strong niche.”

Looking ahead, Greece is a market ripe for renewal. “Many vessels are old and second-hand. We’ve shown new concepts for this market, received good reactions, and are now developing different sizes. The demand is there—airplanes, bridges, or tunnels won’t replace ferries.”

Italy, Croatia, and other Mediterranean countries are also markets with potential. “This entire region will move,” he predicts. “And it has to—there’s simply no alternative.”

Damen.com

Photo: Henk Grunstra, Damen Shipyards, and Mike Louagie, Ferry Shipping News