In an era where new ships are becoming more and more technologically advanced it is sometimes hard to imagine that the world once relied upon sailing vessels large and small to transport goods around the globe. There is perhaps nothing more majestic than a sailing ship in full sail and, thankfully, examples of such graceful vessels are still built today, largely as Sail Training Vessels. One such newbuild took to the high seas in 2014 when the Royal Navy of Oman’s Shabab Oman II was delivered.

Generations for Youth

The initial Shabab Oman (meaning Youth of Oman) is a Barquentine which was originally named the Captain Scott after explorer Robert Falcon Scott. She was built as a Schooner by Herd and McKenzie of Buckie, Scotland in 1971 for the Dulverton Trust and operated by the Loch Eil Trust. In 1977 the 52m long, 30m high and 265gt vessel was sold to the Sultan of Oman and placed under the control of the Ministry of Youth. Her name was changed to Shabab Oman, in 1979 she was inducted into the Royal Navy of Oman as a sail training ship and in 1984 was refitted as a Barquentine. The ship accommodates six permanent crew, three instructors on a rotation and 36 trainees.

The new Shabab Oman II began life as Yard No. 557001 at the Damen Group’s Galati Shipyard on the shores of the Danube in Romania. The yard has produced a multitude of vessels, some of which have featured in previous Newbuild features. As the name suggests, Damen Shipyards Galati is based in the town of Galati along the River Danube. The history of the yard dates back to 1893, when it was established under the name Santierul Naval Fernic Galati (Fernic Shipyard Galati). In 1994, Damen started co-operating with Galati by subcontracting hulls of cargo vessels to the yard. This co-operation worked out very well and in 1999 the shipyard officially joined Damen Shipyards. An ambitious investment plan followed which mainly focused on the improvement of efficiency and on the working conditions. Damen Shipyards Galati was transformed into a modern and top quality shipyard with the capability of building a broad range of products. So far Damen Shipyards has produced a trio of fine sailing ships, all of which have been designed by Naval Architects Dykstra & Partners who are based in Amsterdam. Dykstra brings over 40 years of experience in the design, redesign, naval architecture and marine engineering of classic and modern performance yachts and offers preliminary and concept designs for both pleasure and commercially operated yachts.

Founded in 1969 by Gerard Dykstra, and led now by Managing Director, Thys Nikkels, the award winning team at Dykstra is comprised of passionate sailors actively sailing the company’s own designs and redesigns using first hand practical experience combined with in-house developed software to provide expertise in spars, rigs, and structural analysis that is both current and tried & tested. The first of the trio was the Brazilian Navy’s 74m long and 46m high Cisne Branco (White Swan), which was launched on 4th August 1999 and delivered on 4th February 2000. The second ship was the 723gt/76m long Stad Amsterdam whose design was based on the mid-19th Century frigate Amsterdam. The €10 million ship was completed in 2000 and won the 2001 Cutty Sark Tallships Race. She has crossed the North Atlantic Ocean more than 20 times in her short life and weathered several extreme storms without sustaining damage. The basic design categories currently on offer are 82m and 96m Clippers (3-masted Barque or full rigged) and a 107m Windjammer (3 or 4 mast Barque or full-rigged).

Tradition in a Modern World

The term Barque refers to a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts having the fore and mainmasts rigged square and only the mizzen (the aft mast) rigged fore-and-aft. The advantage of this format commercially was that they needed smaller crews than a comparable full-rigged ship or brig-rigged vessel as there were fewer of the labour-intensive square sails, and the rig itself was cheaper. A Barque can also outperform a Schooner or Barquentine. Conversely, the ship rig tends to be retained for training vessels where the larger the crew, the more seamen are trained. The 750gt/84.70m long Shabab Oman II is of the full rigged variety and her keel was laid at Damen Galati in March 2013.

The contract for the modern day steel hulled Damen 2630 Clipper was awarded by the Ministry of Defence in Oman as they had a requirement to replace their ageing Shabab Oman with a new flagship ambassador to train young Omani navy cadets and officers and to also continue the distinct diplomatic role and emphasize Oman’s centuries-old maritime tradition. The keel laying ceremony was conducted by Rear Admiral Al Raisi, the Royal Navy Oman’s (RNO) Commander-in-Chief. The RNO had an eight-strong liaison team stationed in Romania throughout the build process.

The vessel was launched into the River Danube on 2nd December 2013 and then began her first voyage under tow to Damen’s Vlissingen facility in The Netherlands for fitting out. The journey took her through the Black Sea, Bosphorus, Mediterranean and into the Bay of Biscay before arriving at Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding on 14th January 2014. Although the steel hulled Clipper looks like a beautifully traditional teak sailing ship externally, she boasts the most modern technology inside plus the traditional Omani look, with elegantly hand-carved, gilded scrollwork and nameplates. Whilst in Vlissingen the three 50-metre steel/aluminium masts, rigging and spars were installed, as well as the exterior teak woodwork and decking, and the interior wood lining furnishing and finish as completed by Hertel. The technology systems were commissioned by Imtech Marine/ Alewijnse, Johnson Controls plus other companies. Despite the installation of modern cooling systems and generators, the hands-on sailing experience is retained, nothing is automatic. Yard No. 557001 officially became the Shabab Oman II on 8th May during a naming ceremony at the Dutch shipyard attended by dignitaries from the Ministry of Defence of Oman and senior Damen management.

Upon completion of sea trials in North Sea coastal waters around Vlissingen the Sail Training Ship was formally handed over to the Royal Navy of Oman on 12th September. Among the guests at the ceremony were representatives of the Royal Navy of the Netherlands and Omani Diplomats. Three different Damen yards co-ordinated their construction, engineering and naval architectural expertise to produce this high performance sailing vessel. Damen Shipyards Gorinchem handled overall project management and procurement while Damen Shipyards Galati in Romania performed the major construction works and Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding in Vlissingen handled the fitting out.

The elegant ship has an overall length of 84.70 metres including the bow sprit (with some literature quoting this figure as 87 metres). The length over deck is 67.90 metres. The beam is 11.10 metres, hull depth is 6.70 metres and the maximum draught is 5.10 metres. Displacement is 1,250 tonnes, the Deadweight is 360 tonnes and the ship has an air draught of 49.50 metres. The three-mast full square rigger was built to design principles set for the iconic tea clippers of the 19th century, benefitting from 21st century technology and comfort. Featuring a fully unfurled sail area of 2,700m2, the Shabab Oman 2 has a total of 26 sails, namely 16 square sails, 9 staysails, 1 spanker and 6 studding sails. The two sail combinations are Running Rigging Maximum (a total sail area of 2,630m2) and Windward (a total sail area of 2,270m2). The operating speed under sail is 18 knots.

When mechanical power is required the ship is equipped with two 634kW/1800rpm Caterpillar C32-ACERT diesel engines that drive twin 1625mm controllable pitch propellers. These can be fully feathered to reduce drag when under sail. Port manoeuvres can be aided by a 315kW electrically driven fixed pitch propeller bow thrust unit. On board power is provided by three Caterpillar C9, 215 ekW @ 1800rpm generator sets plus a Caterpillar C4.4, 95 ekW @ 1800rpm emergency generator. The machinery space is located aft on the lower deck with the remainder of that level offering sleeping accommodation. One level above on the ‘Tween Deck is sleeping accommodation fore and aft with other facilities located centrally such as: Officer’s Ward Room, Galley, Day Room, Crew’s Mess Room, Trainee Cadet Mess Room and an office. The main deck above includes Senior Officer facilities, the main saloon, entrance lobby etc. The 54 Officers and Crew have access to single and double cabins (Officers) plus 6, 9 and 12 berth dormitories whilst the Trainee Cadets use traditional 6 and 12 berth dormitories.

All internal spaces have been designed for low noise and vibration and are finished to a very high and traditional standard in teak with brass fittings plus wooden decks, traditional décor and materials are applied throughout, giving this ship the character and ambience of a 19th century vessel of her type. The ship has a crew of 58 and can accommodate 34 Trainee Cadets at a time (male & female). The state-ofthe- art navigation bridge is located on the Poopdeck with deck/rigging equipment located here, on the Boatdeck and on the Forecastle Deck. On the Boatdeck is also located a 2400kg S.W.L @ 7.5m outreach deck crane, two 7.20m ridged inflatables, each with a 240hp engine, plus a SOLAS approved 4.2m rescue boat. Since handover in September 2014 the Shabab Oman has already proved herself to be a fine ship in every respect.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Special thanks must go to Jan-Hein Reeringh (Communications Advisor) and Niels Schröder of Damen Shipyards for their help with information, diagrams and images.