Page 24: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (June 2026)

SHIPBUILDING

Tailored to for short-sea trade into Sweden’s lake system, the AccessMAX tanker type will be built by Ferus Smit.

Thun Tankers bearing on EEDI rating and CO2 emissions.

Stock Building Pays Off

One of the strongest cards held by Damen is its ability to en-

Melding the practice of the Damen Shipyards Group for sure early or rapid delivery through its build-for-stock policy. stock building of standardized designs with the competitive-

From the buyers’ perspective, short contract-to-completion ness afforded by a globally diverse shipbuilding network, the timeframes reduce overall project costs and risks and facilitate production of newbuilds in its Combi Freighter (CF) portfolio exempli? es enduring Dutch prowess in the short-sea cargo responsiveness to market opportunities. Continual evolution of the CF3850 is guided by feedback from operators. vessel market. In particular, the latest version of the 90-metre

The value of longstanding relationships, whereby the contrac-

CF3850 type, a 3,850dwt single-hold trader suited to multi- tor remains fully attuned to market conditions and the speci? c farious bulk commodities and industrial products, is courting requirements of the client, has again been underscored by fresh major interest.

After multiple vessels of the class in its original form had business for Ferus Smit from Sweden’s Erik Thun Group.

Two newbuild tankers of 4,500dwt will encapsulate a design been delivered by Damen over the preceding 20 years, the

CF3850 was redesigned, updated and released at the start of allowing navigation to ports and terminals on Sweden’s inland lake system, while ensuring ? exibility for broader North Sea the current decade. Market receptivity has been such that, by and northwest European operations. The shallow-draught Ac- the end of March 2026, the revised design had attracted a total cessMAX class offers a 10% increase in cargo intake and en- of 50 sales in little more than ? ve years, with 38 delivered. hanced cost ef? ciency per ton relative to previous generations.

For this latest iteration, construction has been concentrated

To date, Thun has received more than 50 cargo vessels and at the Yangtze River premises of Chinese af? liate Damen

Yichang, and also more recently at Ba Son Shipyard, the tankers built by Ferus Smit, mainly from the headquarters yard at Westerbroek, near Groningen, but also out of the Dutch

Dutch group’s partner in Vietnam. builder’s yard at Leer, just across the border in Germany.

The reworked CF3850 uses a six-cylinder DZC medium-

Innovation, collaboration in both production and pre-com- speed main engine from Anglo Belgian Corporation (ABC). petitive research, plus a ‘can-do’ mindset, together have a sig-

The modest 1,104kW output—some 50% less than that of the nal bearing on Dutch yard’s high pro? le in core markets.

MaK machinery powering the early CF3850s—has a positive 24 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • June 2026

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