24JAN2018 - NEWS - Hybrid patrol vessel RPA 8 launched at Rotterdam Port

 RPA 8, a vessel 25 metres in length that can run on both diesel and diesel-electric. The vessel causes considerably less vessel wake and is much more efficient than other Port Authority vessels. It replaces the RPA 3, which had reached the end of its technical and economic service life. RPA 8 was built by Kooiman Group in Zwijndrecht.

Reduced fuel consumption
RPA 8 uses considerably less fuel. The hybrid propulsion system enables efficient patrolling at low speeds and reduces the number of hours the diesel engines need to run at low load operation. The vessel’s special wing profile underwater results in reduced vessel wake. This is better for quay walls and other vessels as well as for fuel consumption. The hull is constructed from aluminium, three times as light as steel, which also results in a fuel consumption reduction. “All these innovations result in the RPA 8 saving the same amount of energy as 65 households consume in one year. This also reduces the vessel’s CO2 emissions; the level of reduced emissions is calculated to be equivalent to saving the annual planting of approximately 8,000 trees,” said René de Vries.