When it comes to creating the future, politicians and activists tend to behave like the beginning of the text in a famous Queen hit: ‘I want it all and I want it now!’. But wise people know that Rome wasn’t built in a day. And anyone who paid even a little bit of attention during their school history lessons knows that for creating a better future it was not the Savonarolas and iconoclasts that brought progress, but the scientists and clever craftsmen that could count.
So, our March edition does not bring the stories of politicians or NGOs, but instead well-researched articles of the people that can count, the engineers and technicians of the maritime industry. And it is with great pleasure that in this special on the energy transition, one can find articles of all three major maritime knowledge institutes, MARIN, TU Delft and TNO.
Moreover, there are also contributions from the maritime industry in the form of an article of Eekels Technology from Kolham. This is a very interesting article for the electrical engineering connoisseurs among our readers. Specials thanks to Eekels for this article. In another article, Gavin Allwright of the International Windship Association has some very convincing arguments for an important role of wind energy in ship propulsion.
Also read: SWZ|Maritime’s February 2023 issue: Nothing beats Groningen in shipbuilding
Special attention in this energy special also deserve the articles about the options of nuclear energy for propulsion of especially bigger ships. Speaking for myself I think that, when reaching a future without climate threatening emissions deserves the highest priority, there can be no taboos on the application of nuclear energy. In this respect, it is hopeful that at least the non-German-speaking part of Europe is willing to conduct thorough research into a future role of nuclear power in our energy supply and that of ship propulsion.
And what would be more interesting than for Dutch research and development institutes to play an important role again in the civil implementation of nuclear energy? So, I can only cordially invite our readers to especially take note of the articles by Koen Houtkoop (TU Delft) and our colleague Björn von Ubisch in this March issue. And don’t forget to read the latter’s background article on the different types of nuclear reactors published on our website earlier today. We were forced to publish this article on our site due to lack of space in the magazine.
It only remains for me to thank my editorial colleagues, Johan de Jong (MARIN) and Willem de Jong (ex-Lloyd’s Register), for coordinating the articles for the energy transition special in this issue.
This is editor-in-chief Antoon Oosting’s editorial accompanying the March 2023 issue.
Also read: SWZ|Maritime’s January 2023 issue: Maritime sector has much to offer
SWZ Archive
Our digital archive is once again available to subscribers and they can read the digitial version of our March issue there. Subscribers can register here to gain access. Not yet a subscriber? Visit our subscription page.
Also read: SWZ|Maritime’s December 2022 issue: When it comes to safety, learning never ends
The articles in SWZ|Maritime’s March issue
In addition to the regular sections such as Dutch news, Maritime monthly, Global news, Book reviews, news from the KNVTS and Mars Report, the articles (some in Dutch) in the March issue are:
- IMO-klimaatstrategie en -maatregelen
- Nuclear-powered ships
- Nuclear power for marine applications
- Electrical propulsion for short sea shipping
- Power, propulsion and energy systems of the future
- The winds of change: One zero-emission dilemma solved?
- Naar klimaatneutraal vissen
- Hydrogen fuel safety on ships
- Hefboom voor duurzame maritieme ontwikkeling
SWZ’s March cover picture: One of the most visible parts of the energy transition is the massive roll-out of offshore wind. In addition to lots of work for offshore companies, it also keeps the multi-purpose fleet busy, among which Spliethoff’s Singelgracht (photo Flying Focus).
