Two new inland container vessels built by Concordia Damen were named at a ceremony held at BCTN’s inland terminal at Den Bosch on Saturday, July 10, 2021. Den Bosch Max BV is a joint venture between logistics services provider Nedcargo International BV and inland terminal operator BCTN.
Following on from their delivery in December 2020 and January 2021, the Den Bosch Max Blauw and the Den Bosch Max Groen were named respectively by Royal Commissioner I. Adema, and Nicole Verduijn, the partner of Heineken BV’s logistics manager. Nedcargo ships around 2.5 billion bottles of Heineken beer to the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp each year.
Both vessels are 90m in length and have a beam of 11.5 metres. These dimensions are the maximum that allows them to pass through the locks on the Dieze Canal at Engelen, a requirement for accessing the terminal at Den Bosch. However, thanks to an innovative design each is capable of carrying up to 132 TEU, 24 TEU more than previous vessels.
Both are also to be equipped to use interchangeable, container-sized battery packs; ZESPacks, supplied by Zero Emission Services. Charged using renewable power, a depleted container can be quickly exchanged for a full one at exchange and loading stations.