(With extra pictures) Last night, the eleventh edition of the Maritime Awards Gala took place at Studio 21 in Hilversum, the Netherlands. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte gave an opening speech to a special evening that was focussed on "accelerating the maritime future" and would see the presentation of five maritime awards.
The five maritime awards and their winners were:
- The Van Hengel-Spengler Award – winner: Sietske Vredeveldt – Research into improving the shock absorbing qualities of chairs on board FRISC
- The Maritime Designer Award – winner: Etienne Duchateau – Design of a method for an interactive and controllable exploration of ship concepts
- The Maritime Innovation Award – winner: IHC IQIP – Integrated Monopile Installer
- The KVNR Shipping Award – winner: HAL Koningsdam & Csmart simulator centre
- The KNVTS Ship of the Year AWard – winner: fishing vessel MDV 1 Immanuel
'Frontrunner in Innovation'
In his opening speech, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said to be impressed with the industry's achievements. Even though the Netherlands is a small country, its maritime industry is a frontrunner in innovation across the globe. Dutch maritime companies, from ship builders to offshore companies and suppliers, can be found on all continents. He stressed he will remain committed to making sure the Netherlands is able to keep its leading position and to do everything possible to ensure a level playing field.
Mr Rutte further stressed he is impressed by the sector's collaborative strength: 'You're always together'. A lot of innovative feats are the result of working together. As an example, he picked one of the nominees (without knowing it would win in its category later that evening): the MDV 1 Immanuel. Through the collective efforts of the "Masterplan Duurzame Visserij" (Masterplan Sustainable Fisheries), a ship has been created that is much more efficient, much more sustainable and much more comfortable than the cutters that are currently sailing the North Sea.
Blueprint 2050
Other words of welcome were spoken by chairman of the Maritime Awards Foundation Henk Volmerink and "Nederland Maritiem Land's" chairman Wim van Sluis. Van Sluis came on stage just after the Prime Minister and stressed the Dutch Government could still do much more to help the industry maintain its leading position. To stay ahead of the competition, the industry needs to "accelerate the maritime future", which was also the theme chosen for the Maritime Awards Gala and Maritime Week.
To reinforce his statements, he presented the Prime Minister with an edition of the NISS' "Blueprint 2050". This booklet published in celebration of the NISS' 100th anniversary, describes different future scenarios of where the maritime industry could be in 2050 with topics such as sustainable growth, big data, autonomous ships, bio-fuels and the possibility of a third Maasvlakte.
The photo album below gives an impression of the Maritime Awards Gala. This year the event was presented by Jort Kelder, known from Dutch TV and his magazine Quest.
Please click the pop-out link to view the pictures in their proper dimensions. All pictures by SWZ Maritime/G.J. de Boer.
