Maritime Awards presented during Maritime Awards Gala 2015
Five of the most important national maritime awards for shipping companies, shipyards, students, designers and suppliers have been presented during the Maritime Awards Gala 2015. The awards were handed out in the presence of over 850 guests, including the editors of Yellow & Finch Publishers, in a sold-out RDM Rotterdam complex. Dutch Minister of Infrastructure and the Environment Melanie Schultz van Haegen gave the keynote speech: “It is our exceptional knowledge that keeps us among the global leaders.” The Gala also marked the official start of the Maritime Week, which puts the spotlight on the maritime sector.
The Maritime Designer Award was presented to Victor Verhulst for his ‘underwater lounge’ for luxury yachts. Lieutenant Kevin Stouten won the Van Hengel-Spengler Award from the Royal Navy for his research into cylindrical containers to carry the equipment of special forces on the exterior of submarines. Hull Vane BV was awarded the Maritime Innovation Award with the Hull Vane, a ‘reversed underwater spoiler’ that results in fuel savings of between ten and twenty per cent. KOTUG was presented with the KVNR Shipping Award for its two new hybrid Rotortug tugboats, and the KNVTS Ship of the Year Award went to the Maintenance Support Walk-to-Work Vessel Kroonborg built by Royal Niestern Sander.
Global top
The winners are all inspirational examples of the innovative strength and added value of the maritime cluster in the Netherlands. “The Dutch maritime sector is not only setting the standard in Europe, it is also a global leader,” said Minister Schultz van Haegen. “Our Maritime Strategy includes agreements aimed at maintaining and strengthening this leading maritime position. Partly based on exceptional innovations, our high-quality expertise helps us stay among the global top.”
Maritime Designer Award
Victor Verhulst, student at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (HvA) designed an ‘underwater lounge’ as part of his thesis project at Feadship De Voogt Naval Architects. The transparent lounge can be extended from the bottom of a yacht, allowing guests to enjoy underwater life in all comfort. An innovative aspect of the integrated design approach is the inclusion of a wide range of aspects: from the client experience to the technical feasibility of detailed solutions.
Royal Netherlands Navy Van Hengel-Spengler Award
The ‘Special Forces Containers’ thesis by 24-year old lieutenant Kevin Stouten was unanimously named winner of the Van Hengel-Spengler Award. His research focused on cylindrical composite containers that can be placed outside the pressure hull of a submarine to store equipment. The containers require openings such as manholes and holes for pipelines and cables, but these holes result in a weakening of the container. This can be compensated for by installing a stainless steel ring, known as an insert. In his research, Stouten concludes that using glued steel inserts in composite pressure bodies is feasible.
Maritime Innovation Award
Just as innovations in the automotive sector often have their origins in Formula 1 racing, the Hull Vane, of Hull Vane BV, was the result of research for the America’s Cup, the grand prix of sailing. The Hull Vane is a separate foil installed on the aft of a vessel. Tests have shown that the resulting resistance reduction offers fuel savings of between ten and more than twenty percent. The Hull Vane is suitable for relatively fast vessels such as navy and coastguard vessels, ferries and Ro-Ro ships, superyachts and specific offshore vessels.
KVNR Shipping Award
KOTUG has started using two new hybrid Rotortug tugboats, the RT Evolution and RT Emotion. The hybrid propulsion system allows the tugs to power the rudder propellers in a diesel-direct, diesel-electric or fully electric way. What makes the vessels extra special is their unique design. Due to the special hull shape, they offer excellent stability during support activities, while at the same time ensuring minimal resistance when sailing without a load. This is one of the reasons the tugs can realise fuel savings up to 27 percent. Based on these factors, the KVNR Shipping Award Jury awarded the annual environmental and innovation award for Dutch shipping companies to these ‘next generation’ tugs.
KNVTS Ship of the Year Award
The Maintenance Support Walk-to-Work Vessel Kroonborg is the result of an intensive partnership between the Royal Niestern Sander shipyard and NAM, Shell UK and several subcontractors to develop a safe, environmentally-friendly and more economical way to transport crew and material to oil and gas platforms for maintenance purposes. Partly due to the hull shape developed by Conoship, combined with the Voith Schneider propellers with active roll stabilisation, the vessel can be deployed on the southern part of the North Sea under maximum conditions of 30 knots and a significant wave height of 2.5 metres. Another unique feature of the vessel is the 22-metre heave compensated Ampelmann gangway to safely deliver staff to the platform.
Kick-off of Maritime Week
The Gala also marked the official start of the Dutch Maritime Week, with many activities taking place in the Ahoy in Rotterdam during the Europort trade exhibition from 3 to 6 November. Other activities in the Maritime Week include the opening of the Maritime Academy Holland Training Centre in Harlingen, the HBO Offshore Network Symposium in Leeuwarden and the ‘Hunt for Pirates’ event for kids in the Dutch Navy Museum in Den Helder. The week will be concluded on Saturday 7 November with Open Days at the various locations of Damen Shipyards and the Netherlands Sea Cadet Corps (NSCC).
Organisers
The Maritime Awards Gala 2015 is organised by the Maritime Awards Foundation which includes representatives from Netherlands Maritime Technology, KVNR, KNVTS, the Royal Netherlands Navy and NISS. The main sponsors of the Maritime Awards Gala 2015 are NNPC, Wärtsilä Netherlands, Damen Shipyards Group, Europort, Huisman, Siemens Industry Software and Maritime by Holland.