High Speed Transfers (HST), a recent new entry into the crew transfer sector, has placed its fourth order for a Damen next-generation Fast Crew Supplier (FCS) 2710, to be named HST Euan.
The order for is the result of a long-term contract won from a client operating out of Belgium.
The FCS 2710 has replaced the Damen's FCS 2610, retaining the twin, axe bow hull design but being both one meter longer and higher. The all-new interior allows it to carry twice the number of passengers (26) as its predecessor and enables it to deliver more flexibility, more tank capacity, greater deck space, increased comfort and more accommodation, the builder said. The extra meter above the water also allows the vessel to operate in wave heights of above two meters, substantially increasing the range of weather conditions in which it can be at sea.
The company’s first vessel, HST Hudson, was delivered less than a year ago in July 2018.
HST’s second vessel to be ordered, the HST Sofia, has recently been launched at Damen Shipyards Antalya and on March 28 left the yard for her delivery to the Black Sea where she will be on a proof-of-concept charter with an oil and gas major.
The third addition to the HST fleet will be the HST Harri, due for delivery in September 2019, with the HST Euan following at the end of November.
The success of the Damen FCS 2710 series in Europe may soon be duplicated in the US. HST has recently announced a partnership with Boston Line & Services, a marine services provider on the US East Coast, for that country’s offshore wind farm revolution.