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Looking for opportunities
MOST VESSELS USED IN THE OFFSHORE INDUSTRY NEED MORE SERVICE THAN ANY OTHER TYPE OF VESSEL. THEY NEED TO BE MOBILISED for each new project and require more maintenance because of the harsh working conditions. This demands a specialised approach.
ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF ROYAL ROOS/ LINDA DE LEUR. R oyal Roos is a relatively young maritime engineering company that provides services to, among others, the offshore and dredging industry. The company takes care of engineering, preparation, and supervision of demanding repair, modification and construction projects. To be able to better meet customer demand, the decision was made to move to a new location in the port of Rotterdam. Founder, owner, and Naval Architect Fulko Roos gives his view on the company’s recent move.
Ample room “About ten years ago we started our activities in the port of Rotterdam and after a few years of growth, we concluded that this location did not provide sufficient room to expand. We then had the opportunity to move to another location in the port area with its own quay facilities and ample of available space. We could start our activities on our new premises in April of this year”, Mr Roos says. The new location consists of an 300m 2 office on top of a 1,000m 2 construction hall. The building is located next to a 225m long quay with a 10m draught. Behind the quay lies plenty of room for storage of parts and equipment. “With our new location, we can expand and better service our customers and this has already paid off with the arrival of DEME Offshore’s Rollingstone vessel. We offer DEME project support consisting of storage space and COVID-19-proof workspace for (sub)contractors, including engineering services.”
The building is located next to a 225m long quay with a 10m draught.
Fulko Roos, “With our new location we can expand and better service our customers.”
Complex vessels One of the spearheads of Royal Roos is the repair and modification works for Life Time Extension (LTE), conversion, (de) mobilisation, and class renewal of vessels and offshore structures. “We can handle any type of ship,” exclaims Mr Roos. “Though we are specialised in the offshore and dredging industry. Offshore vessels are characterised by the fact that they are complex, for example due to customers’ high safety and quality requirements. A broad range of tasks often needs to be executed in a relatively short time in between projects, and with little time for preparation. This requires a lot of expertise and flexibility and certainly gives us the opportunity to add value to a project.”
Diversification Apart from repair, maintenance, and modification of vessels and structures, Royal Roos also offers an extensive package of activities. “We are always seeking opportunities to strengthen our market position”, Mr Roos states. “Today, we have to deal with lots of uncertainties and with our diversification, we are able to stand strong. We offer turnkey solutions for retrofitting ballast water treatment systems for any type of vessel, barge or yacht via our UniBallast brand. Many coasters soon need to be replaced, as they do not meet the new environmental rules. Together with Friday Shipbrokers, we have developed a new future-proof innovative type of a small dry cargo coaster to replace the existing vessels and we are looking for ways to build them in the Netherlands.” Royal Roos is always considering innovative solutions. A fine example of this is the company’s 3D printer. “With our 3D printer, we can print out composite structures of 4x2x1.5m to replace marine steel components. Compared to steel, composite is much lighter and it can handle corrosion better. Another advantage is that composite has a high degree of formability, making it ideal for producing one-offs”, Mr Roos explains.
Dedicated team One of most important strengths of the company is that Royal Roos can take care of an entire project, from design to construction. “Everything depends on what the customer wants”, Mr Roos voices. “Sometimes we take care of only the design and engineering, such as for example the pedestal that we recently designed for a walk to work gangway. Other customers want us to run the entire project. We recently had an offshore crane upgraded from 40t to 80t and we took care of everything, from design to installation. No project is too big or too small for us. No matter what, our dedicated team of engineers in Rotterdam and Ferrol (Spain) will always seek the ultimate result to help our customers with business.”
