Posted on July 7, 2025
With strong and very equal entries again, Monday 3 November promises to be an evening full of pride, excitement and inspiration. During the Maritime Awards Gala in Ahoy Rotterdam, the maritime sector – together with politics, press and the nominees – celebrates the power of innovation. These are the contenders for 2025.
The Maritime Ship of the Year Award is a broad recognition of Dutch shipyards for their maritime innovation power for floating equipment. This year’s nominees are :
- Royal van Lent has built the first Twin Azipod hybrid diesel/hydrogen electric superyacht with over 3MWh of fuel cell power and internal liquid hydrogen storage with Breakthrough . MY Breakthrough is the largest Dutch superyacht in volume ever built, with a gross tonnage of 7,300 GT, a length overall (LOA) of 119 meters and a measured beam of 19 meters. In addition, the yacht features a glass Nemo lounge in the keel, 12 hull doors, 14 sliding balconies with movable floors and much more.
- CSS Den Helder is a complex and innovative supply ship built by Damen Naval . The Den Helder is of vital importance to the permanent support and supply capacity of both the Royal Netherlands Navy and its NATO partners. The supply ship can be deployed worldwide to supply naval vessels at sea with fuel, ammunition, water, food and spare parts. In addition, it can be used to provide emergency assistance and transport goods. The ship is equipped with a Role-2 medical facility and can carry a helicopter. The almost 180-meter long ship will have a crew of only 76, a remarkably low number. In addition, the CSS can take another 80 people on board.
- The Wim Wolff was built by Royal T Shipyards on behalf of the Netherlands Foundation for Scientific Research Institutes (NWO), located in Utrecht, for the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), located on Texel. With the Wim Wolff, NIOZ has a comfortable, innovative and above all much greener ship, making it ready for the future. The Wim Wolff was built according to the most modern insights and was also made as sustainable as possible, in construction and use. And last but not least, it is also a lot more comfortable and user-friendly, both for the crew and for the “boarders” from science.
The Maritime Talent Award is the recognition of a person for his or her research work or development result. This year the nominees are :
- Edwin de Hoog has made a deepening of the influence of dynamics on the stability of the transport process of sand-water mixtures in dredged pipelines. By means of experimental research and the development of new computer simulations, new insights and methods have emerged to further optimize the transport process.
- Tom Wien studied the possibilities of nuclear propulsion for naval vessels for his graduation project at TU Delft, in collaboration with Damen Naval. His research shows that a high-temperature gas reactor, in combination with a supercritical CO2 cycle, is suitable for the variable power issue of a naval vessel.
- Marije Deul , with her vision and concrete steps for high-quality and practical reuse of ship constructions. This preserves steel (a strategic material) in the Netherlands and uses circularity as an opportunity for future-proof shipbuilding.
The Maritime Innovation Award is the prize that is awarded to the most appealing maritime innovation of the past year. This year the nominees are :
- Marine Service Noord has installed the world’s first ammonia fuel supply system on an OSV. It was designed and built according to the risk-based design process and has been awarded the DNV class notation ‘ammonia fueled vessels’.
- The Eye Catcher from Breman Innovation is a remote controlled aid for connecting and disconnecting cargo. It enables cargo handling without human intervention.
- Conoship International has created a standardized, modular, diesel-electric powered coaster design that is ready for the future; the CIP Series.
The Maritime Achievement Award is a recognition of a maritime achievement with social impact and broad public visibility. This year’s nominees are :
- Port of Rotterdam Authority – Portlantis – Portlantis is a brand new, interactive experience centre that takes visitors on a journey through the story of the Port of Rotterdam and the maritime sector. Young and old can discover the significance of the maritime sector in a playful way. In this way, they discover the significance of the maritime sector, and in particular of the Port of Rotterdam, for the Netherlands and for Europe. The high number of visitors since the opening underlines the success. The jury appreciates this investment in knowledge sharing and promotion of the sector.
- Heerema Marine Contractors – ‘ Heerema Installs Monopile Foundations at He Dreiht ‘
With this impressive film, Heerema shows how innovation and care for nature can go hand in hand. When installing wind turbines at sea, the company applies advanced noise-reducing techniques with real-time monitoring to protect underwater life. It shows that the energy transition does not have to be at the expense of nature. The nomination is an appreciation for Heerema’s social commitment. - Silvan Floor – Rotterdam Mainport Institute – Silvan Floor is an enthusiastic teacher of nautical subjects, loved for his passion, dedication and innovative teaching methods. Silvan tries to inspire students from his own experience for what he describes as “the most beautiful profession in the world”. According to him, this is not only about knowledge, but also about ‘motivation and developing the skill to continue learning independently in a changing practice’. The jury sees his efforts as an encouragement for all teachers in maritime education.
The Maritime Security Award is a sectoral recognition of an innovation in the field of security within maritime parts of the Dutch government. This year the nominees are :
- Teun van Schriek – With the increasing threat from the east, the Royal Netherlands Navy needs to catch up in protecting units and shipping against submarines. Teun van Schriek’s research focuses on modernizing current tactics to optimize the search for submarines with the help of AI. The research can directly lead to an improvement in tactics for the Royal Netherlands Navy and NATO units.
- Roos Dees – The North Sea contains critical infrastructure for the Netherlands and is currently insufficiently protected. The research by LTZ3 Roos Dees looks at the use of existing fiber optic cables to continuously detect vibrations and convert these vibrations into observations of ships. This technology makes it possible to map suspicious activities in the North Sea. The advantage of the research is that current infrastructures can be used to protect the North Sea.
- Mirjam Hochstenbach – The Royal Netherlands Navy is going to acquire new submarines. With the increasing complexity and importance of underwater sensors, it is essential that the processing of acoustic data is optimized. Mirjam Hochstenbach’s research examines the use of AI to improve passive sonar classification. The research has been carried out very carefully and can be used in the further development of Dutch sonar capabilities.
The Maritime Awards Gala 2025 is made possible by the main sponsors :
Breedveld Staal
Damen Shipyards Group
Europort2025
NNPC
Port of Rotterdam
Praxis Automation Technology BV .
