Minister Hanke Bruins Slot sails on the F.A.S.T. boat

Dutch government Minister of the Interior Hanke Bruins Slot has taken a trip on board the Damen Stan Patrol 900 that is being converted into an autonomous sailing ferry. During her first official working visit, the Minister came to Vlissingen to show that the compensation package for the Marine Barracks is “top of the agenda”. On 2 February, she visited various locations including Ritthem, where the Vlissingen Judicial Complex is to be built, the Kenniswerf in Vlissingen, and rounded up the day with a trip on board the F.A.S.T. boat (Fieldlab Autonomous Sailing Technology) in Vlissingen’s inner harbour.

Project leader Jochem Nonhebel and Director Naval Sales Support Richard Keulen picked up the minister from the jetty next to the Vlissingen train station. In the future, the autonomous ferry will also depart from this point. Smart Mobility programme coordinator Ron de Bruijn, from the Province of Zeeland, gave a short speech about innovative solutions for mobility problems, after which the Minister boarded the ferry. After a 30-minute tour of the Binnenhaven, the boat and its guests moored in the Dok.  “The minister liked it a lot,” says Jochem. “She even took a seat at the helm and was very interested in the project. I invited her to come back in a year and see how the boat sails without a helmsman.”

The F.A.S.T. boat made an important trial run on 20 January during which various tests and measurements were made. These results will play an important role in how the project progresses. Meanwhile, the boat has been moved to Vlissingen-Oost and has been taken out of the water again. Jochem: “It is currently in Hall 2 and over the next two months we will strip it down completely to make a good inventory to see which components can be put back or need to be replaced.” The two diesel engines will be replaced with electric motors. In addition, the project team is busy building a project website and setting up a LinkedIn page, where interested parties can follow the project and its progress.

Project F.A.S.T. is a collaboration between Damen Naval, the Province of Zeeland, the Municipality of Vlissingen, HZ University of Applied Sciences, Delft University of Technology, and companies such as Captain AI, Kloosterboer, Vlaeynatie and Zeeland Boten. The project is being funded by a grant from the European EFRO programme. The objective is that there will be an autonomous ferry service between Vlissingen train station and the city centre within two years.