Dutch shipyard Damen Naval has signed a contract with classification society Lloyd’s Register in relation to the Plataforma Estratégica de Superficie (PES) frigate design for the Colombian Navy, the company announced on 4 December 2024.
Lloyd’s Register will execute the full plan approval for the execution phase of the programme, which will see Colombia produce its first indigenously built frigate and become only the third country in Latin America that is able to build complex naval vessels at its own shipyards after Brazil and Mexico (Chile is also looking to initiate a frigate-building programme).
Colombian shipbuilder COTECMAR (Corporación de Ciencia y Tecnología para el Desarrollo de la Industria Naval, Marítima y Fluvial) and Damen Naval signed an agreement to co-develop and produce five new frigates for the Colombian Navy in September 2022. The first PES frigate is scheduled to be delivered to the Colombian Navy in 2030.
COTECMAR will build the frigate at its facilities in Cartagena de indias. Following a successful design study contract with COTECMAR, Damen Naval signed a contract for the delivery of engineering, technical support and the shipbuilding materials and equipment for the first frigate in August 2024. Lloyd’s Register has been involved with the project since the end of 2022, initially for plan approval services within the design study contract.
“This project allows Damen Naval, as a trusted partner, to enable COTECMAR, the Colombian Navy and the Colombian maritime industry to construct a frigate locally for the first time. In this way it contributes to a strong, self-sufficient defence industry in Colombia,” Damen Naval project director Jasper Oreel was quoted as saying in a company press release. “Our partnership with Lloyd’s Register will help ensure that the vessel will live up to a modern-day safety standard.”
The PES design is based on the versatile Damen Naval Sigma 10514 series, which has previously been built for Indonesia and Mexico. The Colombian frigates will have a length of 107 m and a beam of 14 m.
“Lloyd’s Register will assess the design and provide support to maximise the safety and assurance of the vessel,” said Yorick Spoelstra, business development manager at Lloyd’s Register for naval projects. “Lloyd’s is very proud to be part of this project, building further on our longstanding relationship with Damen Naval.”
