Project F.A.S.T. finds company for ferry service with autonomous boat

A company has been found that will provide the ferry service using the small boat of autonomous sailing project F.A.S.T. Local entrepreneurs Frans van Spaandonk and Erik Kiljan have founded the company ‘Heen en Weer’ and have approached Damen Naval to transport passengers from Vlissingen train station to the city centre and back. The plan is for the ferry service to start as early as June this year.

According to Project Manager Jochem Nonhebel, the pair had been working on plans for a round-trip service in the harbours of Vlissingen for some time. “They saw our autonomous sailing project and thought it would be a nice cooperation.”

At the moment, the Stan Patrol 900 is being refurbished in Vlissingen-Oost: the boat has been emptied and completely cleaned. The diesel engines have been checked and will be put back into service for the time being, while the new electric motors are on order. In the coming weeks, all equipment will be replaced and cameras, radar and sensors for wind, current speed and more will be installed. When the boat is ready, there will be room for 12 passengers on board. The ferry service will operate between the train station and the moorings at the Timmerfabriek and Het Dok.

“The intention is for the boat to sail throughout the tourist season,” says Jochem. “In the beginning, it will not be autonomous and the boat will be steered by students from the HZ. This way, we can already collect a lot of data which we will be able to use when the boat is autonomous. The major transformation to autonomous sailing will probably take place this autumn.”

Project F.A.S.T. is funded by a grant from the European EFRO programme and the aim is to create an autonomous sailing ferry service between Vlissingen train station and the city centre within two years. In the meantime, a special LinkedIn page has been created for the F.A.S.T. project and the website is also being worked on. It is expected to go online this spring.