The nominees have their say: 2024 edition

On October 10, 2024, the three nominated shipyards were given the opportunity to present their projects for the prestigious KNVTS Ship of the Year Award 2024 during a meeting of the Rotterdam chapter. During this evening it became clear why each ship is a worthy candidate for this special award within Dutch shipbuilding.

The nominees

• Holland Shipyards presented the Gorinchem XII, an innovative and light ferry developed for the municipality of Gorinchem, built with thoughtful aluminum profiles to build as light as possible. Battery electric propulsion, fast charging technology, aimed at efficient public water transport.
• Royal Huisman proudly displayed the sailing yacht Sarissa, which not only shines with its design and use of materials, but also incorporates pioneering technologies that have already received international recognition such as retractable thrusters, an electric DC network, variable speed generators with batteries. The integration of sailing technology, stability, and the luxury requirements of a super (sailing) yacht, put the Sarissa above world class.
• Kooiman Shipyards showed the innovations in the Water Injection Dredging vessel Rijn which was built for Van Oord. The Rijn is an innovative maintenance and dredging vessel that uses water injection technology. Innovations in the dredging method, energy efficiency and far-reaching emission reduction were discussed.

The speakers spoke at length about the challenges involved in the design and construction of their ships, as well as the innovations they have implemented to differentiate themselves from competitors.

An inspiring evening
The presentations gave the members and guests present a special insight into the versatility and innovativeness of Dutch shipbuilding. As always, it is a difficult task for the jury to select one winner, given the high level of the nominated projects. The winner of the KNVTS Ship of the Year Award will be announced at the Maritime Awards Gala to be held on November 4.