Damen’s Shiprepair Yard Expands Onshore Charging Capabilities for Vessels

Damen Shiprepair Oranjewerf has advanced its on-shore power charging capabilities to cover all types of vessels that call at the yard in Amsterdam.

The yard had already installed shore power suited to many of its projects. However, with this latest installation, developed by Elma Systems, the availability of clean on-shore power converted to 60Hz has been expanded to cover more vessel types.

“Previously, we were able to provide shore power with 50 hertz. However, we get a lot of offshore, navy and fishing vessels come to the yard for work, and many of these vessels operate on 60 hertz,” said Jeen van der Werf, Commercial Manager Damen at Shiprepair Oranjewerf.

As a result, the yard often had to hire in a diesel-powered generator, something the environmentally conscious yard was keen to avoid.

“We’re always keen to play our part in advancing maritime sustainability so, when we heard about a 35% temporary subsidy for sea goings vessels from the RVO (Dutch Enterprise Agency) for shore power installations, we were very happy to take part with an investment of our own,” added der Werf.

Elma Systems provided a rotary convertor which converts the shore power to the desired 60hz.

The shore power system of 355A, which is installed to the yard’s floating dock, can support up to 250kVA.

However, should more power be required, there is an option to add a battery or secondary power source.

The rotary converter is therefore also equipped with a load sharing system. With this new shore power system, Damen Shiprepair Oranjewerf expects to see a reduction in carbon emission, making a significant contribution towards its sustainability ambitions.

As an additional benefit, the wider use of shore power means that the yard no longer has to hire in costly diesel generators, and is, therefore, able to offer its clients a more competitively priced project.