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Innovations
The spirit of innovation drives every action at RensenDriessen. We are
continuously improving our vessels in terms of safety, quality, effectiveness,
and cost-efficiency, on top of reducing our ships’ environmental impact.
We are committed to developing ships that really contribute to the overall
reduction of emissions.
A recent innovative application towards this goal is the Van der Velden Marine
Systems Flextunnel. This innovative, retractable tunnel, developed specifically
for inland vessels, lowers resistance and increases efficiency.
The tunnel ensures optimal water flow to the propellers at shallow draughts.
The downsides of conventional tunnels are an increase in hull resistance,
lower efficiency, and increased fuel consumption. Moreover, inland ships are
loaded, therefore sailing in deeper water conditions for about 85 percent of
the time, during which a tunnel is superfluous. The Van der Velden® FLEX
tunnel is deployed when sailing in shallow waters, ensuring sufficient water
flow to the propellers and maintaining their efficiency.
Alternative fuels play a key role in achieving the reduction of emissions. We
have successfully deployed Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) on our latest designs.
This is a major step forward. The uptake of LNG technology is a rather
complex process, but the rewards are more than satisfying as LNG is better
for both our customers and our society.
LNG causes substantially lower emissions of air pollutants than conventional
diesel and marine gasoil. On top of that, it reduces operational fuel costs
thanks to long-term price differences when compared to diesel.
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