With once again many entries competing against each other, the Maritime Awards Gala 2024 promises to be an exciting evening on Monday 4 November. In addition to the Ship of the Year Award nominees we announced last Friday, these are this year’s nominees of the other four Maritime Awards.
On Friday, we already revealed the Ship of the Year Award nominees: Kooiman Marine Group’s Rijn, Holland Shipyards’ Gorinchem XII, and Royal Huisman’s Sarissa. Read more about these special vessels here:
Yacht, ferry and dredger up for KNVTS Ship of the Year
The Maritime Talent Award
The Maritime Talent Award recognises an individual for their research or development work. This year’s nominees are:
- Fanny Rebiffé with “AI Sail”, an open-innovation project on machine learning. With the project, Fanny has shown that Reinforcement Learning can be used to control maritime assets.
- Willem van Herwaarden has developed a methodology in the form of a working procedure that can be used to determine the offshore crane vessel’s radius of inertia prior to an operation. This is important for predicting the deployability of offshore working vessels.
- During her graduation for TU Delft at Damen Shipyards, Elise Hoffmann developed and applied an approach that allows taking into account circularity during the (re)design of ships and equipment on board.
Also read: Kalea Holkema wins Maritime Talent Award
Maritime Innovation Award
The Maritime Innovation Award is the award presented to the most compelling maritime innovation of the past year. This year’s nominees are:
- AutoMooring Solutions’ STS system is an advanced automated modular docking and mooring system that combines vacuum technology and robotic arms with artificial intelligence to mutually moor ships.
- Wattlab has developed solar hatches, a solar power system integrated into classic ship hatches. Thus, each hatch becomes a sustainable generator, which can significantly reduce fuel consumption on ships.
- With Seaqualize’s Heave Chief 1100, offshore installation contractors can safely hoist and install heavy wind turbine components all year round. It is the world’s largest and most advanced inline Active Heave Compensator.
Also read: World’s largest telescopic offshore crane wins Maritime Innovation Award
The Maritime Achievement Award
The Maritime Achievement Award recognises a maritime achievement with social impact and broad public visibility. This year’s nominees are:
- KNRM has been committed to helping people in need on the water for 200 years. Saving lives at sea depends on the efforts of dedicated volunteers. The nomination is an appreciation for the volunteers who form the backbone of KNRM’s work.
- Royal Bodewes and VPRO Tegenlicht with the TV episode “Dwarse Scheepsbouwers” (contrarian shipbuilders), which painted an exceptionally good picture of the Dutch maritime sector. The nomination is an encouragement to the maritime sector and beyond to realise more similar social visibility for the maritime sector.
- Safeguarding the Mare Liberum by the sailors of the Royal Netherlands Navy. The nomination is an appreciation for the commitment of all Royal Navy crew members who work to ensure international free passage for civilian shipping.
Also read: Maritime Achievement Award for Merchant Shipping Database
The Maritime Security Award
The Maritime Security Award is a sectoral recognition of an innovation in security within maritime parts of the Dutch government. This year’s nominees are:
- Erik Dekker has researched the characteristics and performance of the Russian hypersonic “Kinzhal” missile. He describes under what conditions a Kinzhal can be disabled with a capable interceptor missile.
- In her thesis “Drone neutralisation with radar technology”, LTZ3 (TD) Anna Verhoek studies whether it is possible to disable drones with the electromagnetic radiation of radar systems.
- Bas van Berkel researched methods that can be used as part of large-scale and automatic monitoring of territorial zones at sea. The aim is to detect ships that do not want to be seen.
Also read: PHAROS-DART research lands Pim van de Koppel Maritime Security Award
Maritime Awards Gala
During the Maritime Awards Gala, hundreds of maritime professionals will meet to celebrate the innovative capacity of the Dutch maritime sector together with the press, politicians and the nominees. This year, the event takes place on Monday, 4 November, at Studio 21 in Hilversum, the Netherlands.
The Maritime Awards Gala 2024 is co-sponsored by main sponsors Praxis Automation Technology BV, Anker Crew Insurance, Damen Shipyards Group, NNPC and Europort2025.
Picture: Maritime Awards Gala group picture winners 2023 (by the Maritime Awards Gala Foundation).
