Damen Shipyards Group and Coastal Workboats Scotland have introduced a new vessel for the aquaculture industry in Oban, Scotland. The unveiling of the new Landing Utility Vessel 1608 coincided with the handover of the first in the series to Loch Duart.

The LUV 1608 was built by Coastal Workboats Scotland to a Damen design that was engineered by Damen design bureau OSD/IMT. The vessel will be able to carry out a wide range of support tasks to the aquaculture industry, including the transportation of people, equipment and feed to offshore fish-farming locations.

14 Tonnes of Lifting Capacity

A key feature is the hull design, which has been developed to accommodate a HS Marine AK67 E4 Crane. This size of crane offers very high capability not usually seen in a vessel of 16 metres with close to 14 tonnes lifting capacity at 3.5 metres and 3 tonnes at 13 metres.

Landing Craft Functionality

The development of the LUV 1608 has drawn on the expertise of a number of parties specialising in shipbuilding and the aquaculture industry. The original concept was for a Utility Vessel (UV), but was expended to have landing craft functionality to ensure a wider geographical reach for operations in areas where there was less port infrastructure available. The LUV 1608 hull can also be built at 19 metres in length to provide additional deck capacity.

Custom Features

As is usual with Damen standardised vessel designs, the LUV 1608 can be customised to meet individual requirements. This is demonstrated with this first vessel for Loch Duart that was delivered on 26 July. The tailored features of this vessel named Lady Rebecca include tyre fenders, location of capstans and foot pedals.