Ferry ms Willem de Vlamingh has received an upgrade over the past three months. The ship has become LNG hybrid, as a large battery pack (900 kWh) has been installed, among other things. The ship sails between Harlingen and the Wadden Islands Terschelling and Vlieland.
Rederij Doeksen commissioned Werft Shipbuilding in Urk for the conversion and the job was carried out at Damen Shiprepair’s shipyard in Harlingen. This operation was a collaboration of a large number of technical specialists, including those from Piet Brouwer Elektrotechniek and VCU, both from Urk.
‘The nice thing about the project was that our own employees came up with the technical concept,’ says senior fleet inspector Jitze Landman.
Also read: Rederij Doeksen fits cargo catamaran with new engines
Generators, batteries and extra bow thrusters
By installing permanent magnet generators on the crankshafts of the main engines, the residual capacity of these engines is converted into electricity. This way, the energy produced by the main engines is used more efficiently and the auxiliary engines need to run much less.
This power is stored in a newly installed 900 kWh battery pack. That energy is then used to power the hotel operation (catering equipment, lighting, navigation equipment) and the ship’s bow thrusters. The larger battery packs mean that embarkation and disembarkation can now be fully electric (zero emission). The battery packs are recharged by shore power at night, reducing fuel consumption. As more shore power becomes available in the future, the ship will need less and less LNG.
Two additional bow thrusters have been installed, allowing the ship to manoeuvre even better in strong winds.
Conversion of Willem Barentsz planned
Last Wednesday, 16 April, the sea trials took place after intensive months at the shipyard. The tests went smoothly and to complete satisfaction.
‘An exciting moment,’ confesses Landman. ‘Especially sailing with the new generators on the crankshafts of the main engines. A bit technical perhaps, but this had not yet been done anywhere in the world on a gas engine. We would like to become a zero-emission ferry service and this project is another great and instructive step in that direction.’
The Willem de Vlamingh performed its first service trip again on Friday, 18 April. Sister ship Willem Barentsz will undergo the same refurbishment in the first months of 2026.
Also read: Doeksen’s LNG catamaran Willem Barentsz wins Shippax Technology and Design Award
Sister LNG ferries
The Willem Barentsz and Willem de Vlamingh are the first (single-fuel) LNG-powered ferries in the Netherlands. They are also the first ships in the world in which single fuel LNG engines directly drive rudder propellers with fixed propellers. In 2022, LNG prices were so high, that the ferries were temporarily taken out of service for the most part.
Construction of the ferries wasn’t a smooth process. Originally, the aluminium catamaran car ferries were supposed to be delivered at the end of 2017. However, Vietnamese shipyard Strategic Marine suffered financial difficulties while constructing the vessels. This meant that although the keels were laid on on 15 July and 9 August 2016, the ships could not be launched until 8 and 12 January 2019.
Finally, Doeksen decided to bring the ships to the Netherlands for finishing, but they suffered water damage during transport causing yet more delays. Eventually, the vessels entered into service in June and September 2020.
Picture (top) by Rederij Doeksen.
Also read: Doeksen takes LNG ferries largely out of service due to fuel prices
