Dutch research foundation awards vessel newbuilding contract to Kampen yard

The Netherlands Foundation of Scientific Research Institutes (Nederlandse Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek Instituten; NWO-I) has awarded Thecla Bodewes Shipyards of Kampen a contract for the construction of a new ocean research vessel.

The vessel, which will honour the late Dutch ecologist Wim Wolff, will have a shallow draught and engines that run on hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) and that may be modified in future to operate on either hydrogen or methanol.

Wim Wolff will replace an older vessel in the NWO-I’s ocean research fleet. Its lifespan is expected to exceed 30 years.