The announcement coincides with Damen’s ambitions to further expand its standing in the Expedition and small size Cruise Vessels market.

Mr Trevisan will oversee Damen’s global commercial and marketing activities with regard to new build cruise vessels. “I will be a sort of Damen brand ‘Ambassador’ for the cruise industry, working in close coordination with our well established regional sales organisation and with my colleagues Mr Henk Grunstra, Product Director Cruise and Ferries, and Mrs Hadewych Reintsema, Design and Proposal Manager Cruise.”

Cruise ambition

“On a personal note, I am truly excited and honoured to take on this new position for Damen. It is like returning to my roots because I have had a passion for cruise ships ever since I was a child. This was the reason why I decided to study at the Nautical College in Venice, Italy – to fulfil my dream of sailing in one of them one day. I became a Master Mariner and served as a Navigation Officer on large cruise liners for 11 years, sailing all the oceans and visiting several destinations.

“In the course of my onshore carrier I initiated a commercial path. I joined Damen in 2012 as Regional Sales Manager and had the pleasure to contract a number of successful new build vessel projects.

“I am now truly looking forward to meeting the enthusiastic representatives of this fascinating market and discussing their views and their new build cruise ship ideas.”

Group synergies

The decision to create the position of Sales Director Cruise Vessels New Building is linked to Damen’s focus and growing ambitions in the cruise vessel construction market. This development, says Mr Trevisan is backed up by the cooperation between companies within Damen Shipyards Group.

“I am confident Damen will be a reliable partner for future ventures, as we display a unique cooperation within the Group. These are true synergies. For example, we have luxury superyacht builder AMELS on our team. They have developed the SeaXplorer range of expedition yachts, which share numerous technical similarities to expedition cruise vessels. Two of these have already been sold.”

Furthermore, Damen Shiprepair & Conversion is well established in the cruise market, having already gained an interesting track record. A new dedicated Product Manager, Mr Rogier van der Laan has been recently appointed.

The collaboration continues with Danish naval architects Knud E. Hansen. “They bring invaluable skills and experience of the cruise industry to the design table. And combined with the unparalleled operational experience from Expedition Voyage Consultants, we introduced a 100-passenger capacity Expedition Cruise Vessel concept design last year.

“This is only the start. We are also currently putting the finishing touches to a 200-passenger capacity concept design.”

A natural step for Damen

The fact that Damen is still family-owned has played an important role in growing strong customer relationships, says Mr Trevisan. “These family values mean that we still have the capacity to treat our customers with a personal touch.”

“Every one of the 6,000+ vessels that we have built over the years has received the highest levels of commitment and expertise from our teams. It is these skills that we now intend to use to break even further into the Cruise Vessel market – something that we know is a natural transition for Damen.”