Two push boats, developed in the Netherlands with a retractable rudder, are about to enter into service in Paraguay.
On Tuesday, 27 September, the vessels will be officially christened by Princess Zenani Mandela-Dlamini, Nelson Mandela's daughter, and Edmundo Valenzuela, archbishop of Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay. Horacio Cartes, the country's President, is also expected to be present at the ceremony.
Flanking Rudder System
The push boats were built by VEKA Group, the Netherlands, and have an innovative, specially developed flanking rudder system that is to save between 5 and 7.5 per cent of fuel on the river Parana. The Parana river contains many twists and turns and the flanking rudder system will help the vessels manoeuvre.
As the river may suffer from low water levels in the dry season with a chance of hitting rocks and a rudder causes extra resistance, VEKA Group and Van der Velden Marine Systems came up with the retractable rudder system. The rudder is only lowered when the vessel needs to turn thereby reducing both resistance and thus fuel consumption as well as the risk of damage to the rudder.
Self-reliant Push Boats
In addition, the push boats, named Herkules XVII and XVIII, are self-reliant. If something breaks along the way, the crew is capable of fixing it themselves. The system was tested at the Development Centre for Ship Technology (DST) in Germany.
The push boats have been developed for Imperial, one of the largest inland shipping corporations in Europe and Paraguay. Imperial's headquarters are located in South-Africa. Princess Mandela-Dlamini is the South-African ambassador in Paraguay.
