Sustainable, secure, and safe!

Olaf says: “Our facilities, our high-quality testing, our simulators, and our ability to connect with our various maritime networks - it’s a unique offer in the world!”

And the directors want this strategy to drive positive change and achieve tangible results by 2032 - its 100th anniversary. “It is very important to make steps towards an integrated maritime energy transition, have fewer accidents, more resilience, stronger defence.”

Underwater drones, autonomous inland vessels and short-distance ferries, vessels using sails, the energy transition, sustainable aqua farming, adaptive infrastructure, floating solar panels or the next generation of inland shipping vessels…MARIN is here to support clients and their innovations that advance progress in safety, sustainability, and security.”

“There are oceans of opportunities to be more sustainable, secure, and safe!” Olaf and Hannes stress.

Testing concepts upfront at MARIN, at the client’s location or in operation at sea

Clients can evaluate their designs upfront and explore alternative concepts - whether this is directly at MARIN’s facilities or using its tools at their own location and own design teams, or aboard their vessels, he says.

“This explorative mindset, embodied in the new strategy, allows us to find solutions with our clients. They can experience alternative designs, innovate faster and accelerate their innovations! For example, on our simulators we can give crews the opportunity to experience and modify a design before it has been built. In this way, we believe that we give maritime companies a real competitive edge.”

The call for innovating more quickly is particularly relevant given advances in Artificial Intelligence. This also means very good, comprehensive data is required. “We don’t see AI as a threat; we can generate this data with our numerical models and pioneering facilities and help clients develop data-driven solutions. We are in an excellent position to provide this data and support them.”

Explorative role

And one thing is clear from the directors – the new strategy is driven by MARIN taking on an even more explorative role. Olaf emphasises: “There is an enormous call to innovate faster and push boundaries. We use our knowledge and methods to accelerate innovation to enhance safety, security and sustainability.

“New methods are needed, and new knowledge is required for the next generation of ships. We are confident that we are taking the right steps with the new strategy.”

Hannes explains: “MARIN is committed to assessing and testing designs and operations, believing that ships, marine structures and operations improve when environmental and financial risks are identified and mitigated from the beginning. Increasingly, clients are asking MARIN to become involved much earlier in their projects than the design phase. This requires us to strengthen our role in innovation and to explore concepts at an earlier stage.”

Its mission is to commit to the sustainable, safe and secure use of the oceans for a thriving maritime sector. And MARIN’s two new directors, Olaf Waals and Hannes Bogaert, who will spearhead the new strategic direction, stress: “We believe that the sustainable, safe and secure use of the oceans are necessary conditions for the maritime sector to thrive and be successful. And vice versa, a thriving and successful maritime sector is needed to achieve a sustainable, safe and secure use of the oceans. That is why we are committed to connect these societal values to the maritime industry.”

Olaf (left) and Hannes agree: there are oceans of opportunities to make shipping more sustainable, secure, and safe.

Developing the new Strategic Plan has been an exciting endeavour, and to make sure it addresses the needs of the maritime sector, as well as the organisation itself, it was developed by the management team, together with a wide representation of MARIN volunteers and industry stakeholders. Key players in the maritime and energy industry, government representatives, universities, classification societies and technology companies all participated. The broad-based group conducted a thorough analysis of our environment, lessons learnt from MARIN’s past and held candid discussions about the future direction.

The µMMS is not only applicable for FOWT, but also for other small floaters and ships. The new measurement system makes it possible to accurately test small vessels, without the unwanted effect of the measurement cables.

For example, this year the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management contracted MARIN to investigate the dynamics that are involved in the capsizing of beam trawlers. The main goal of this project was to investigate the capsize risk in relation to fishing operations and the stability criteria.

Initially, we had planned to make a free sailing model for the tests that connects to the measurement system on the carriage. The combination of a small vessel and the high wave height in the tests resulted in a model weight of less than 100 kg. Given the small model size, low forces can have an impact on the rolling behaviour of the vessel. Therefore, to minimise the impact that the cables can have on the motions of the vessel, we minimised the number of sensors on board to the bare minimum. Additionally, we planned to use thinner cables than normal to reduce the weight even further.

The µMMS became available when we were designing the model. This offered the opportunity to make the model completely wireless and to measure more signals within the budget of the project. Without the measurement wires between the carriage and the model, the test setup was more versatile. No precautions were necessary to avoid interference from the measurement cables.

Key stakeholders

Ultimately, MARIN continues to be an independent knowledge institute with a strong focus on the future of the maritime sector. It will address three main tasks: developing, applying, and disseminating knowledge to solve societal questions and support government tasks and policy; empowering the innovative strength and competitive position for the maritime sector as a whole and specifically for EU and the Netherlands, and managing our strategic research facilities that are unique in the world.

Being introduced in the context of an uncertain geopolitical climate and with the world facing major global challenges such as climate change, the energy transition and digitalisation, the new strategy outlines what MARIN stands for and what it wants to achieve together with the sector by 2032.