Posted on November 24, 2025
Damen is confident in the result of the legal proceedings and will finally have an opportunity to explain that the suspicions of the Public Prosecution Service are unfounded
Yesterday, an article was published in a Dutch newspaper regarding a preliminary court hearing scheduled to take place next Monday. Based on this report, the following response has been released to the media:
Damen Shipyards Group has been investigated by the Public Prosecution Service for activities that took place between 2006 and 2016. This investigation has taken place over an eight-year period, and has resulted in a case centred on suspicions of forgery in relation to a number of projects. These allegations relate to a period in time during which Damen undertook in the region of 1,500 complex shipbuilding projects worldwide.
A preliminary hearing will be held on Monday, November 24th. Damen is disappointed by the long duration of this investigation and is anticipating a lengthy legal battle. Damen is confident in the result of the legal proceedings and will finally have an opportunity to explain that the suspicions of the Public Prosecution Service are unfounded. Once the substantive hearing begins, Damen will defend itself fully in court – and not in the media.
Damen is committed to applying its expertise in the further strengthening of the Dutch maritime manufacturing industry, thereby contributing to the Netherlands’ defensive and economic resilience. Damen has a robust compliance procedure in place and a professional team that carries out a careful review of every contract proposed by agents and clients. The effectiveness of this compliance programme is recognised by external parties, and Damen is certified according to the highest international standards for integrity and anti-corruption (ISO).
On November 24th, a preliminary hearing will also be held for a separate legal dispute, regarding the delivery of several cranes to Russia in the first half of 2022. This proceeding is completely separate. In this legal dispute, Damen has also chosen to conduct its defence exclusively in court and not in the media.
