‘De Vries & Van de Wiel’ chooses Nauplius

Nauplius Workboats is a relatively young company, but its owners and management have long and broad experience in the ship building industry. With over 35 years of experience at the management level in the maritime sector, Dick Westera is responsible for marketing and sales as the commercial director.

Survey vessel

In recent weeks, a Nauplius team has been working on converting a high-speed work ship into a state of the art survey vessel. ‘We have made a number of structural and equipment modifications to make the vessel suitable for hydrographic work under the UK flag,’ says Westera. ‘Among other things, this involves installing a moonpool and various fixed sensors to be able to take soundings, installing a new generator, modifying the electrical system and installing larger batteries. Of course, a full survey control table is being installed. The work for this project is being done at our temporary location in Hindeloopen.’

Ships for very specific applications

‘There are a lot of companies that can build vessels that can be used for a variety of tasks,’ says Westera. ‘However, Nauplius also develops, builds and converts ships for very specific applications. We prefer not to make any concessions to quality for versatility, but to build the best ship for the desired application.’ These applications vary widely. ‘Our speciality is system integration into new and suitable existing ships, including survey vessels'. Given the international experience of the management, Nauplius places its emphasis on the international market, including for the fish farm industry and high-speed pilot boats, crew tenders, patrol and support vessels and special response vessels such as ambulance ships, ships for oil spill control and fire-fighting vessels.

New line

Nauplius has taken the initiative to develop a new line of six different ship types. ‘Our specialists constantly track developments on the market and develop new ship types where they see opportunities,’ explains Westera. ‘An example of this is a relatively lightweight 15 metre long survey boat that can be lowered onto a mother ship using on-board cranes on the deck.'

Advice and mediation

Nauplius offers a broad range of services. ‘It’s not just about development, new-build, renovation and conversion. Our clients can also draw on our knowledge and experience when it comes to purchasing ships. De Vries & Van de Wiel is a good example of this. They approached us with the question of what ship would be most suitable for the conversion to a survey vessel. On the basis of our recommendations, they finally purchased the ship that we converted for them.’

Cooperation

In cooperation with its sister company Argos Engineering, Nauplius Workboats was also involved in building five tenders for the Dutch Pilot Association. The management was also responsible for the project management of ten survey ships and crew tenders. Nauplius works together with Argos Engineering and Maritiem Cluster Friesland and others on a project basis and uses the services of specialist companies that can provide added value for projects. ‘In this way, we can deliver both small and large projects on budget and on time,’ Westera clarifies. ‘This collaboration is what ensures that we always have access to the expertise required. This enables us to deliver the best vessel for the requested application.’

Ocean Business

Nauplius Workboats will be present at Ocean Business in Southampton from 14 - 16 April in the Dutch pavilion of the Dutch Ocean Group, stand S1.