The President of Panama, Juan Carlos Varela, performed the christening ceremonies of all four vessels on 6 February 2017.
Coinciding with the vessel handover, a deal was also signed a second contract with Damen for an additional batch of four Interceptors. Both contracts include a comprehensive after-sales package that consists of training, spare parts and maintenance.
Talking about the inaugural contract with SENAN, Damen sales manager Americas Pieter Becker states: “We are happy and very proud to welcome SENAN as a new client. This is a very professional organisation with whom we are looking forward to building a strong relationship.”
SENAN will mobilise the four new vessels from its Fort Sherman Naval Base located at the Caribbean end of the Panama Canal. The vessels’ primary function will be to combat illegal drug-trafficking activities in the surrounding area.
To this end, the Damen Interceptor 1102 is an extremely suitable choice of boat. Its low weight construction from fibre reinforced polymer composite materials combined with twin Volvo D6 engines deliver outstanding results.
“This is an ultra-fast vessel,” said Becker. “It can reach speeds of more than 55 knots.”
Contributing to such high speeds is the vessel design: the single chine hull reduces the amount of impact in heavier seas and improves high speed manoeuvrability.
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