SHIPS

By | 2025 Newsletter week 17 | No Comments

From LNG To Hybrid: WILLEM DE VLAMINGH Upgraded for the Future

Over the past three months, Rederij Doeksen’s ferry WILLEM DE VLAMINGH underwent a major technical transformation. The vessel is now an LNG hybrid, thanks to the installation of a 900 kWh battery system.

This innovative refit, developed in-house by Doeksen’s own technical team, was carried out by Werft Shipbuilding (Urk) at Damen Shiprepair in Harlingen, with vital contributions from Piet Brouwer Elektrotechniek and VCU, both also based in Urk.

  • Permanent magnet generators were installed on the crankshafts of the main engines to recover unused engine capacity and convert it into electricity.
  • This power is stored in the new battery system and used for the onboard hotel load and bow thrusters.
  • Two extra bow thrusters have been added, improving manoeuvrability in strong winds.
  • Embarkation and disembarkation can now take place fully electrically and emission-free.
  • The battery system is charged overnight with shore power, reducing LNG consumption — and paving the way for even lower emissions as shore power availability increases.

Sister ship WILLEM BARENTSZ is scheduled for the same upgrade in early 2026.

“Using crankshaft-mounted generators on gas engines like this hasn’t been done anywhere else in the world,” says Jitze Landman, senior fleet inspector. “It’s a small technical revolution.”

LNG-powered WILLEM DE VLAMINGH Finally Put into Ferry Service

By | 2021 Newsletter week 4 | No Comments

The new LNG-powered catamaran WILLEM DE VLAMINGH of Rederij Doeksen was officially put into service on Tuesday 26 January. With this, the ship follows its sister ship WILLEM BARENTSZ, which was introduced on 3 July 2020.

These ships are The Netherlands’s first (single fuel) LNG ferries and the first vessels in the world with single-fuel, direct-drive LNG engines propelling fixed rudder propellers. The ships will be deployed on the ferry connection to the Dutch isles Vlieland and Terschelling.

Dirk Spoor, CEO of Rederij Doeksen: “Due to a variety of circumstances, the COVID-19 crisis not least among them, the road to this fantastic moment has been long and bumpy. But the result of everyone’s efforts is impressive, and something of which we can be extremely proud.”