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 90 metres 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 utilise 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.

Diederik Antvelink, joint owner of NedCargo, commented, “We use ‘Max’ as an element of the names of these new vessels because we aim to maximise the reductions in our emissions and maximise the the number of containers that these vessels can carry. We are pleased to have continued our cooperation with Concordia Damen, having built three previous vessels with them. These new ships are a valuable addition to our fleet.”