The Netherlands has a strong maritime industry and world-class expertise. To maintain that position, new technologies must be tested, deployed, and scaled here at home. That will require sufficient charging infrastructure and grid capacity, suitable financing, and regulation that actively supports innovation.

“The first emission-free vessels are already in operation. The challenge now is to move from pilots to large-scale deployment,” said Martin Bloem, Vice President at Damen Shipyards. “If government, ports and industry work together to create the right conditions, the Netherlands can take an international lead in making the maritime sector more sustainable.”

The fully electric tug Aqua Pollux shows that electric workboats are already a reality. The electric waterbus Blue Amsterdam illustrates how passenger transport by water can be made more sustainable. Damen is therefore calling for public-private investment in shared maritime charging points, shore power, and energy hubs. The company also wants the European Emissions Trading System (ETS) to be extended to workboats, with revenues reinvested in the sector’s transition. This would help accelerate investment in emission-free technology and infrastructure.

Damen is also pursuing this ambition at European level. The company supports the European Industrial Maritime Strategy and launched the Workboat Alliance, which aims to strengthen Europe’s position in workboats for ports, inland waterways, offshore infrastructure, and maritime security.

Alongside these examples of electrification, Damen will also use World Port Days to show how maritime innovation contributes to security and resilience. In collaboration with the Port of Rotterdam Authority, Defence, Damen, and Fugro will use the deployment of the Galatea to demonstrate how public and private parties can work together under the Protection North Sea Infrastructure Programme (PBNI) to provide additional capacity for monitoring and protecting vital infrastructure in the North Sea.