The Inland Terminals Group takes a further leap towards the electrification of its fleet. Our operating company BCTN, in partnership with Nedcargo, Cordia Damen, and Zero Emission Services (ZES), is investing €4.5 million to retrofit the container ship ‘Roermond Max’.

“We’re making history,” says Diederik Jan Antvelink, the founder of Nedcargo, referring to the transformation of a conventional ship into a vessel with electric propulsion. He anticipates that this won’t be a singular event. “This will set the standard for the future.”

Cordia Damen is overseeing the retrofit of the ship. The aim is for the ‘Roermond Max’ to become a showcase that proves the viability of converting to electric propulsion. The goal of the project is to develop a retrofit kit that can be applied to other vessels.

The ‘Roermond Max’, which currently already serves BCTN, operates along the Rotterdam-Alblasserdam-Nijmegen-Roermond-Wanze corridor. By 2028 at the latest, the ship should be running on battery containers supplied by ZES. A similar transition is planned for its sister ships ‘Den Bosch Max Blauw’, ‘Den Bosch Max Groen’, and the ‘Nijmegen Max’, which already operate using diesel-electric propulsion.

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Photo: © Nedcargo