October 12 (SeeNews) - Romania's ministry of the interior said it has signed an agreement with Dutch group Damen to buy two multi-role vessels intended mainly for search, rescue and firefighting operations for a total of 44 million euro ($42.7 million).
The two vessels will be designed and built at Damen's shipyard in Galati, eastern Romania, and will be delivered to the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations, IGSU, in December 2023, the ministry said in a press release on Tuesday.
The acquisition is financed from European funds through the Large Infrastructure Operational Programme for 2014-2021.
"The state-of-the-art equipment of the two ships, which will serve IGSU, will allow rescuers to intervene at sea, in extreme conditions. The acquisition of these ships is a first for us and I am convinced that they will contribute to increasing the efficiency of the missions to which we will be called to respond," interior minister Lucian Bode said.
"Also, the investment is of particular importance for the Romanian economy, considering that the design and execution will be carried out at the Galati shipyard."
With an area of 55 hectares and having approximately 1,700 employees, Damen Shipyards Galati is one of the largest production units of the Damen Group which operates 35 shipbuilding and repair yards worldwide. The group employs 11,000 people worldwide and delivers some 175 vessels annually.
Besides the shipyard in Galati, Damen also operates a shipyard in Mangalia, on Romania's Black Sea coast. The shipyard is operated as a joint venture between Damen and the Romanian government with Damen responsible for the operational management of yard.
In July 2021, Damen announced that it is laying off 228 employees at the Mangalia shipyard due to low demand in the offshore sectors. The decision was part of a reorganisation plan announced in July 2020, which also involved the loss of 642 jobs at Galati, Damen said at the time.
($=1.031 euro)