Drones on Dutch waterways
A Dutch shipbuilder is planning to construct ten semi-autonomous vessels that will be equipped with hybrid propulsion. The client, a Belgian owner, came up with the concept and named the vessels 'river drones'.
The 106 m long units will be completed by Asto Shipyard in the Netherlands, in collaboration with various partners. The ships are propelled by two new Equadrives fitted with Verhaar Omega nozzles.
The Equadrives, in turn, are powered by two Mitsubishi generator sets supplied by Koedood Marine Group. Koedood Marine Group recently received EU stage V certification for these generator sets. Werkina has been commissioned to build in all the electronics.
The ships are guided safely through the water from a Seafar control centre. Optimal vessel performance is achieved through extended navigation time and optimised crew time efficiency. "This is a first step towards what we believe to be the future," says Wim Driessen, owner of Rensen Driessen Shipbuilding. (sh)