WILLEMSTAD – After years of financial losses and technical setbacks with underperforming floating docks, Damen Shiprepair Curaçao has ended 2024 on a positive note. For the first time since its establishment, the company has recorded a small profit and is now considering expanding its services.
Damen Curaçao’s Managing Director, Robrecht ‘Bob’ Derks, recently featured in a promotional video by Curaçao Ports Authority (CPA) titled Meet Bob Derks, where he provided insight into the company’s activities. Leading Damen Shiprepair Curaçao BV, Derks is responsible for ship repairs, modifications, and maintenance services, ensuring that vessels remain in optimal operational condition. CPA described his role as crucial to the island’s maritime industry.
Currently, Damen Curaçao employs more than 160 workers and collaborates with over 30 local subcontractors. Expressing his confidence in the company’s future, Derks stated, “We are here to stay.” His focus remains on improving the quality of production, a goal that is steadily being achieved. Customer satisfaction has significantly improved, marking a turnaround from previous periods of international client dissatisfaction.
A major contributor to this progress is the €20 million capital expenditure plan (Capex-Plan), supported by the Dutch government. With approval from CDM Holding (Curaçao Drydock Company), the funds are being used to upgrade facilities, including electrical installations, dock pumps, crane tracks, and retrofitting older cranes with new technology. Until the upgrades are completed, mobile cranes are being used to support ongoing operations.
Damen and CDM Holding are currently in the third year of their revised concession agreement, under which Damen pays an annual concession fee of ANG 130,000. Relations between the two entities remain strong, and Damen is now exploring expansion beyond traditional ship repair in its two dry docks and three berths.
One of the key new services under consideration is ‘harbour and voyage repairs’, which involves performing maintenance and repairs on ships on-site or during their voyage. Damen already offers this service in other parts of the world, and introducing it from Curaçao could provide significant added value to regional clients.
Meanwhile, CDM Holding, under the leadership of Agustin Diaz Jr., is working with other stakeholders on a project to expand operations into a section of Buskabaai—a part of the Schottegat waters between the Asphalt Lake, the former Isla refinery, and Damen’s facilities. This initiative could further strengthen Curaçao’s position as a key player in the maritime industry.
With financial stability, strategic upgrades, and plans for service expansion, Damen Shiprepair Curaçao appears set for a promising future.