Isn’t that impressive, the front page of our April issue, as full as the harbours of Werkendam are with inland navigation vessels? Of course, a ship is primarily a tool that must sail to transport cargo, otherwise no money is made, skippers have no income and loans cannot be paid off. But once a year during Christmas, Werkendam’s harbours fill up with ships of skippers with origins in and family and friends from the Werkendam area. A moment of rest after hard work, for the skippers and their crews and for all those hard workers who built many of these ships.
Our front page photo may therefore well be seen as a tribute to all those individuals and SMEs who have made Dutch inland navigation great, and which is now the champion of inland shipping of Europe. And now, they are working hard to make inland navigation future-proof by making ships more sustainable and suitable for running on hydrogen, for example. Werkendam is also the birthplace of the first two hydrogen-powered barges.
But sailing more sustainably can be done in many ways. For what is traditionally our inland shipping special in the April issue, our inland shipping editor Martin van Dijk once again went in search of interesting stories about innovative projects. This has yielded a number of fine articles. This includes one on Arie Koedood and his Nederlandse Innovatie Maatschappij (Netherlands Innovation Society). After selling Koedood Marine Group, he can’t stop doing business and has thrown himself into innovations in inland navigation.
Also read: SWZ|Maritime’s March 2024 issue: Ports, dredging, and strategy
Downright innovative is also Holland Shipyards Group‘s 3D-printed, autonomously sailing ferry for the Olympic Games, next summer in Paris. Sustainability can also be achieved through more efficient sailing by, for instance, lengthening ships, in this case the Nazar. Something that involves a lot of technical calculations. Pure technology is also the use of bow rudders, making ships considerably easier to steer, which in turn means they use less fuel.
And the cover picture is of course accompanied by an article about Werkendam by our employee Hans Heynen. He illustrates how cooperation has allowed a wonderful inland navigation cluster to develop.
Also read: SWZ|Maritime’s February 2024 issue: Dredging, a strategic industry
Submarines and future fuels
And that still isn’t all: this edition’s Markets is by our naval specialist Jaap Huisman who, together with Wouter Kruijt, has produced a reflection on the Dutch submarine order. And innovation advisor to Netherland Maritime Technology (NMT) Marnix Krikke demonstrates what the best propulsion for the future ships of the Dutch National Shipping Company (Rijksrederij) could be. In short, a worthwhile read.
This is editor-in-chief Antoon Oosting’s editorial accompanying the April 2024 issue.
SWZ Archive
Our digital archive is once again available to subscribers and they can read the digitial version of our April issue there. Subscribers can register here to gain access. Not yet a subscriber? Visit our subscription page.
Also read: SWZ|Maritime’s January 2024 issue: An education and labour market special
The articles in SWZ|Maritime’s April issue
In addition to the regular sections such as Dutch news, Markets, Global news, book reviews, news from the KNVTS and Mars Report, the articles in the April issue are:
- Ernstige twijfels over kabinetsbesluit onderzeebootvervanging (read this article in English here)
- Samenwerking versterkt Werkendams cluster
- Breathing life into inland navigation innovation
- LVBHB 50 jaar
- 3D printed and autonomous
- Verlenging is een duurzaam groeimodel
- Geavanceerde koproeren besparen brandstof
- Greening the Dutch state fleet
- Hydrogen-powered dredging in the port of Rotterdam
- The case for treated sediment
Picture: Werkendam has developed into a one-stop-shop for inland navigation. Through cooperation, many different activities can be coordinated here (photo John Weeda for Werkendam Maritime Industries,cover picture of SWZ|Maritime’s April 2024 issue).
Also read: SWZ|Maritime’s December 2023 issue: Finland leads the way in shipbuilding
