VDR MARINE EQUIPMENT
MARITIME MARVELS OF HEAVY LIFTING
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VDR MARINE EQUIPMENT
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I PROFILE
At Dubai’s VDR Marine Equipment, decades of revered and highly specialised Dutch maritime expertise are applied to the manufacture, repair and refurbishment of marine cranes, winches and assorted mechanical deck equipment. VDR Marine Equipment fills a crucial role in the Middle East’s fast-moving offshore oil and gas industry. Managing Director Fred van Dort and Business Development Executive Ferdi van Dort chatted with Richard Hagan about the company’s impressive service record.
or the last fourteen years, VDR Marine
F
in 2015 by current Managing Director Fred
Equipment has provided specialised
van Dort, as a service provider for cranes
maritime crane manufacturing and
and winches – both onshore and offshore
repair services to customers around the
– as well as providing electrical and hydraulic
Middle East.
repairs for deck equipment.
The company engineers, manufactures and maintains lifting and pulling equipment and other material handling products for a wide variety of marine, offshore and industrial applications, providing a robust toolbox of solutions to support its customers’ needs.
An uplifting history VDR Marine Equipment was established in 2019 as a result of a merger between VDR and Jebsen & Jessen Offshore (one of the world’s largest marine equipment OEMs, formerly known as Marine Equipment). VDR was established several years earlier
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VDR MARINE EQUIPMENT
I PROFILE
Following the merger, Mr van Dort was
facilities include a vast array of machinery
later joined by relative Ferdi van Dort as
and other capabilities that allow it to
Business Development Executive.
manufacture cranes and handle its
Today, VDR Marine Equipment employs
servicing commitments.
fifteen staff members across two facilities
VDR Marine Equipment’s Programmable
– one in Abu Dhabi and one in Dubai. Its
Logic Computer (PLC) testing equipment is a particular highlight of its capabilities. “We have invested a lot of time and money into our PLC programming and testing equipment,” Managing Director Fred van Dort revealed. “That makes us unique because there are only a handful of companies in the world who are able to program cranes and the complicated systems that run them.” In 2022, VDR Marine Equipment carried out 200 projects worldwide – both new builds and services and repairs – a figure that the company is especially proud of given its relatively small staff footprint.
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European maritime expertise
is in its bespoke load monitoring systems.
With a career spanning over two decades,
The company’s systems – known as Load
spent working in some of the world’s largest
Monitoring Indication (LMI) – are industry-
dredging companies, Fred van Dort can now
leading for their accuracy and robustness.
leverage his considerable work experience
“We have designed the hardware
and industry expertise in developing solu-
and the software ourselves,” explained
tions for VDR Marine Equipment’s customers.
Business Development Executive Ferdi
He explained the value of this experience
Van Dort. “The LMI systems that we build
for the company’s Middle Eastern market:
encompass the whole crane and allow
“European maritime knowledge and quality
you to record everything that happens
– especially that of marine equipment and
to that piece of equipment, in terms of the
services – is widely regarded across the
load exerted on it. Once you reach 90 per
region. That creates an opportunity for us
cent of the load capacity, an alarm sounds
to compete on a very strong basis with
and the machine automatically switches
local companies.”
to reduced power or speed.”
One of the areas in which VDR Marine Equipment’s expertise is on full display
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VDR MARINE EQUIPMENT
I PROFILE
VDR Marine Equipment has an LMI system
While the company’s new-build crane
for winches as well – including mooring and
manufacturing programmes are important,
towing winches. “We are developing an
its repairs and maintenance department is
audible slip detection that generates a
just as critical to VDR Marine Equipment’s
warning when a slip is detected,” said Fred
success, as Fred van Dort highlighted:
van Dort. “There’s also a recording function
“Refurbishment of cranes and winches is
for tension and length so that if a fault
one of our core businesses. We upgrade
occurs, you can go back and check what
the equipment to bring it up to date with
happened and where the fault occurred.
current rules and regulations, complete
“This technology is particularly impor-
with LMI systems and new controls.”
tant when our customers are working on big wind turbines, or towing a large barge,
Into the deep
for example. If something goes wrong,
A recent project encompasses all of the
the fault must be recorded so that the
skills, expertise and capabilities of VDR
problem can be resolved.”
Marine Equipment and its teams. The company built and delivered a crane capable of working to a staggering water
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depth of 3,000 metres. The crane, which has a load capacity of 25 tonnes, was
Fred van Dort explained. “To achieve this,
installed on a diving support vessel and
in 2024 we’re planning to increase our
includes active heave compensation.
production capacity and manpower by
The vessel was built in the United Arab
200 per cent. This will include additional
Emirates and travelled to Norway for fitting
staff training and additional testing tools.”
out, before deploying to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,
In the meantime, VDR Marine Equipment has
where it works in the oil and gas industry. The
become a member of the Lifting Equipment
vessel is multi-mission capable, however,
Engineers Association (LEEA), a crucial step
and can be deployed for any number of
on its growth path.
other roles including cable laying, seismic surveys and various other tasks.
Concluding, Fred van Dort reflected on his love for the work that the company
The successful delivery and commis-
does. “Building and working on cranes is
sioning of that crane propelled VDR Marine
my hobby,” he said, laughing. “It makes me
Equipment into exploring plans to increase
very happy to be able to do this job; it’s my
its capacity for building more cranes of
hobby – my lifestyle. When people ask me
that size – and larger. “We want to build
when I plan to retire, my answer is that it
100-tonne cranes for 3,000-metre water
will be when I can no longer climb into
depths, with active heave compensation,”
a crane. Until then, I’m not retiring!”
n
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