Damen Plans Dutch Amphibious Ships at Galati
Damen says its next Romanian shipyard project will be amphibious transport ships for the Royal Netherlands Navy, with the UK also set to build Anglo-Dutch vessels.
Updated on Nov. 13, 2026 in Military
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Damen's director of corporate strategy and innovation, Richard Keulen, said the next project at its Galati shipyard in Romania will be amphibious transport ships for the Royal Netherlands Navy. Britain's minister Luke Pollard has said the UK would build all eight Anglo-Dutch ships.
Why it matters
The planned partnership, valued at £2.4 billion and announced at the NATO summit in Ankara, signals closer naval cooperation between the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Neither government has yet named a designer or builder, and no contract has been placed, leaving open where the ships will ultimately be made.
The partnership carries a stated value of £2.4 billion for eight ships of roughly 160 metres and 15,000 tonnes, four per navy. The total cost split and the final builder remain unconfirmed, as no contract has yet been placed.
The players
Damen
Damen is a Dutch shipbuilding group that operates shipyards across Europe and builds naval and commercial vessels.
Luke Pollard
Luke Pollard is a British minister who has spoken publicly about the UK's role in building the Anglo-Dutch ships.
Richard Keulen
Richard Keulen is Damen's director of corporate strategy and innovation, who spoke about the shipyard's next project.
The details
Keulen made the remarks at the Euronaval exhibition in Paris, saying the Dutch ships would act as a command platform and logistics centre. Keulen also said the UK is interested in joining the programme and would buy four ships, while Pollard said the first ship is targeted to enter service in the 2030s.
Timeline
8 July: Pollard told a joint Treasury and Defence Committees session that Britain would build all eight ships.
July: The UK-Netherlands partnership was announced at the NATO summit in Ankara.
19 November: A defence exhibition in the Netherlands is expected to reveal more of the design.
Roadmap
The Anglo-Dutch amphibious ships extend the partnership first announced at the NATO summit in Ankara in July, which valued the joint effort at £2.4 billion. Their construction plans, including Damen's Galati yard, move that agreement from political pledge toward industrial delivery.
For defence watchers and taxpayers in the partner countries, the procurement will shape where jobs and spending land, depending on whether the UK or Romania builds the ships. No final contract has yet fixed those outcomes.
The takeaway
The Anglo-Dutch ship programme shows how allied navies are pooling large defence budgets, but key decisions on design and builder are still pending. Watching the November design reveal will indicate how quickly the partnership moves to contract.
What happens next
A design reveal is expected at a defence exhibition in the Netherlands on 19 November, when more detail on the ships may be disclosed.
Further reading
Explore more Military coverage for context on naval procurement and alliance shipbuilding.
Source note: This article includes information reported by UK Defence Journal.
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