JFD, part of James Fisher and Sons plc, has acquired all the assets, IP and design rights of Ortega Submersibles BV, the Netherlands-based submersible boat designer and manufacturer. The acquisition will enable JFD to expand further its offering of advanced swimmer delivery vehicles (SDVs) and to develop new vehicles and capabilities in order to meet increased market demand for specialized small and medium-size craft.

JFD, through its subsidiary JFD Ortega BV, will retain Ortega’s office and manufacturing facility and its whole team of designers and engineers at the established operational base in Enschede, Netherlands.   

JFD will also add to its existing SDV manufacturing capability based in Vaxholm, Sweden, and expand its offering to include new vehicle designs that will allow Special Forces operators to safely and covertly conduct challenging missions.
 
JFD’s advanced range of SDVs are specifically designed to facilitate the safe insertion and extraction of Special Forces and their equipment from different types of vessels, providing navies with the capability to deliver the payload (operators) safely to their intended point of insertion at a high level of readiness. In all JFD SDVs, operators are shielded from the water stream, enabling them to retain warmth and reduce the cold-water temperature exchange rate. This minimizes the physical impact of the insertion or extraction operation and ensures divers are able to keep fatigue to a minimum.