They are very proud at Next Generation Shipyards in Lauwersoog:
the brand-new tender for the Dutch Pilotage is ready in the harbor. Costs: 3.5 million euros.
Pilot tenders are used to transport pilots to and from large seagoing vessels. Twenty of these tenders sail along the Dutch coast. Five will have to be replaced in the coming years.
Follow-up order
The 'Mira' is the first of those five. Trial runs are currently being carried out, after which the ship will be handed over to the client.
Once it has been definitively proven that the ship meets all the conditions, they will be allowed to build two more of these ships in Lauwersoog in the first instance. Then another two.
Doubling the turnover
Shipyard owner Albert Keizer previously calculated that this order doubles turnover.
He is proud of the slender ship: 'It's a very special assignment', he says glowingly. It is an enormous reference for us all over the world that we were able to build this ship, which was designed by a renowned Irish firm.
Fuel savings
What's so special about it? It has been completely redesigned and, in collaboration with our engineering, an enormous weight saving has been achieved. Together with the optimal shape of the hull, this results in enormous fuel savings. You can count on 200,000 to 300,000 liters per year'.
That doesn't mean that the pilot tender doesn't have enough 'power': the ship sails at 30 knots with ease.