RTV Drenthe has also noticed that we have started building the new series of Watertaxis. Andries Ophof has devoted a report to it which we will show you below. Keep reading!

A nice job, is how Remko Germeraad of Alumax Boats in Meppel calls the order from Watertaxi Rotterdam. The company is building seven electrically powered water taxiboats.

These aluminum boats are 12,5m long and 3,5m wide. On the boat there is room for about fifty passengers. Some of the seven new boats will be made suitable to carry bicycles as well. Watertaxi Rotterdam wants to operate them on the river Maas, which runs straigth through Rotterdam. From one shore to the other.

Aluminium boats

Alumax specializes in building aluminum boats. They build them for individuals, but also work boats. At the moment they are building one for a customer in Vietnam. And since the outbreak of the coronavirus the demand for aluminum boats has also risen sharply, according to Germeraad. Dutch people go on vacation in their own country and want a boat. According to Remko Germeraad, the water taxis are a challenge to him. “Electric sailing is really not foreign to us. But this size and with this many passengers is new for us. We have had a new battery system and an Dutch-made electric motor made. The Maas is a very busy waterway. Therefore, we also have to do a lot to ensure the safety of the taxiboat.” The construction of seven ships will take until early 2023. One of the ships will be delivered empty. The intention is that it will run on hydrogen. An experiment in which Watertaxi Rotterdam is involved. Germeraad sees that as something to be excited about. “Something is bound to happen in the field of hydrogen. But whether it is affordable, that is the question.” For Alumax, at least, this order means work for a longer period of time. And there is now more interest from abroad. Especially due to the fact that they are electrically powered. “We have contacts with Germany, Turkey and Portugal. Several countries have asked about the possibilities”.

Venice could benefit

An example is also the city of Venice. There the air is so clean now because the tourists are not there because of corona and few boats sail, that these taxiboats are also something for this Italian city. Germeraad sees possibilities “You have no emissions, so fits very well.” The first one should be ready by the end of the year. “When the first one is ready, we will first test it on the Meppeler Diep. After that, the water taxi will immediately be used in the fleet of Watertaxi Rotterdam. Read an article in the link>>