Towards a futureproof
maritime sector
We are your partner-in-crime for a rock-solid innovation strategy,
appealing projects and impactful collaborations.
The maritime sector is vital to our society and our future, to connect the world, create new land and provide access to remote places.
The world is changing fast and a sustainable footprint is crucial.
To stay futureproof we need to set sail into a new direction. Innovation, diversity and collaboration are the switches that need to be flicked.
Let’s determine your course together!
#getpropelled
We are the Maritime Sisters
On a mission to shake up the status quo – in every way.
Bringing out the best in organizations is our power. We set things in motion with our energy, by connecting the dots and by making new connections
Our drive, energy and network will make the difference!
Activities
Innovation placed the Netherlands on the maritime world map thanks to vision, guts, knowledge, skills and, mainly, capable people. We think these are exactly the ingredients with which we are going to keep our leading position.
How we do this
Our approach
We bring novel ideas through keynotes and workshops, challenge management teams in strategic sessions, kickstart innovations with exploration and validation trajectories, (distinctively) deep dive into relevant developments and essential topics for our sector and are the point of entry to new collaboration partners and consortia.
In short, we are your partner-in-crime on our way to a sustainable maritime future.
Change
We are the outboard engine. We explore the market, your potential and validate innovations. Together we set the course and determine the right strategy, accelerate business, initiate projects ánd keep management teams sharp/on their toes.
Connect
Within our international ports, maritime and offshore network we connect innovations and (launching) customers, set up consortia, build innovation ecosystems, activate communities and find ‘the right person for the job’.
Inspire
We stimulate the dialogue with
alluring presentations, interactive workshops that ignite action
and by acting as (unconventional) moderators.
“In their own way Sylvia and Marjolein know how to create an open & trusted setting, a dynamic in which innovation ignites!”
Jan-Peter Balkenende, Former Prime Minister, Chairman Dutch Sustainable Growth Coalition, External Senior Advisor EY, Professor Erasmus University
Maritime Sisters
Who are we?
Two energetic lateral thinkers with maritime DNA, often described as super connectors on a mission to make the sector futureproof.
But most of all a robust, complementary team as sisters, shedding a different light on the sector with their own voice and approach.
#getpropelled
Gisteren waren we bij #WindDay 2025, dit jaar in Rotterdam Maritime Capital of Europe. Gebracht op onze ‘nieuwe’ #circulaire fietsen van @roetzbikes uit #amsterdam!
Heel toepasselijk om hier te zijn, want #Rotterdammakeithappen geldt zeker. Hier wordt stevig geïnvesteerd in #windopzee en @havenrotterdam streeft ernaar 25 GW aangesloten te hebben in 2050. Ontelbare projecten bereiden de #haven daar nu op voor.
Daarmee levert de haven een belangrijke bijdrage aan de realisatie van onze #klimaatdoelen.
Samen transformeren we het #energiesysteem naar een CO2-neutrale wereld met o.a. #offshorewind, #floatingsolar, #energieopslag, #windopland en door slimme #samenwerkingen en #innovaties. Maar ook een goede business case en consistent beleid!
Dank voor het samenbrengen van zoveel relevante partijen en content NedZero - Branchevereniging voor windenergie, Euroforum, Port of Rotterdam en Gemeente Rotterdam!
Nor-Shipping 2025 - catching up with old friends, making lots of new connections and absorbing insightful knowledge, amongst others ;) #getpropelled
Exciting cooperation with @radio.holland for International Women’s Day. Yesterday we delivered a keynote (online) on diversity, equity & inclusion for a truly #SustainableMaritimeFuture, with employees joining from all over the world!!! What an #awesome experience this was. And we’ll do it again on this Friday!
¡Maritime Sisters went ’Hermanas Marítimas’! For the past three weeks we moved our ’HQ’ to the South of Spain for a project for Ecoíslas & Cluster Marítimo de Canarias. An island at the forefront of innovation and sustainability, with unique places for experimentation like Plataforma Oceánica de Canarias (PLOCAN).
¡Regresando hoy lleno de inspiración!
Don’t miss the boat! This is the quite literal call to action of Circular Maritime Technologies (CMT). These pioneers of clean and safe ship dismanting have just taken a huge step towards making high quality reuse of ship components ánd steel (in the Netherlands) possible!
Last week we had the honor to join a.o. @keesvanderstaaij and @arneweverling for a very exciting demo. Striking a balance between force, speed and material this special wire cutting technology is going to enable CMT to cut up serious ships in only 5 days in the future.
Next step after this important validation: an operational yard in 2025 producing clean steel scrap from 50 ships a year. And after that scaling up to a full-size yard able to handle larger ships (Panamax), creating an important influx for the production of green steel locally and more importantly realizing a 1.7 million ton co2 reduction annually.
Beautiful example of facing our responsibilities whilst creating new business opportunities! We’re particularly excited about the fact that this has been realized with Dutch players willing to stick their necks out. Congratulations CMT, @huismanequipment and @enviu
Now let’s make sure NL/Europe doesn’t miss this boat, because if we want to continue building strategic ships, we need to think strategically about our materials as well!
#shipdismantling #circularopportunities #entrepreneurship #nogutsnohollandsglorie #sustainablemaritimefuture
Er waait een nieuwe wind binnen RWS en de Rijksrederij! Na de kick-off van het vlootvernieuwingsprogramma kunnen wij niet wachten om door te pakken 🚀 #christa #unstoppable
No maritime sector without the #humanfactor! It is crucial that we leverage the potential of underrepresented groups in our sector, from both a labour perspective as well as from an innovation and #sustainablemaritimefuture angle!
Earlier this week Marjolein debated on Human Capital Trends & Imperatives alongside Margaret Akello, Renze Boersema, Joost Bout, Zhongyi (John) Su, Mare Straetmans, Marc Buijs and Thijs Slavenburg at the 23rd Mare Forum.
She argued we cannot afford to exclude half of the worlds’ population (we’re not ‘just’ talking women here, as half of the worlds population is also under 30…). And urged everyone to fill out the International Maritime Organization & WISTA International Women in Maritime Survey 2024. Cause if we can’t measure it, we can’t change it!
Congratulations to the #MAG24 winners: Royal Bodewes & VPRO Tegenlicht, Holland Shipyards Group, Seaqualize, Fanny Ebiffé and Bas van Berkel! What a night celebrating the Dutch maritime innovation power at #MAG24!
Very happy also to see more diversity amongst the attendees, and with that a better reflection of our #innovationpower!
Last years’ call to action by Rob Verkerk, amongst others, was clear. It could (and should be if you ask us) a lot more diverse! We couldn’t agree more, so naturally we committed to filling two WISTA The Netherlands tables! As you can tell there were a lot more #WISTA members present at the other tables. And we will continue that upward trend as far as we are concerned 🚀
Thank you for joining us Babette van Schriek, Aleyda Ortega, Naomi Blomsteel, Dubravka Zaja, Kim van Dijk - Korteweg, Selin Ogis LL.M., Dewi Wesselman, Dimitra Damala, Daniëlle Keijzer, Corine Franken, Sabrina Etzdorf, Josefien Almekinders, Irene ‘t Hart-Palatresi, Antoinette Stegmeijer, Eileen Berntsson, Marjolein van Gennip and Anja Franz. And thank you for the Schuttevaer headline and great picture René Quist (could not tag any more ladies due to taglimit)! Photo copyright Schuttevaer/Frank de Roo & Rebekka Mell
#maritimeinnovation #sustainablemaritimefuture #dutchmaritimesector #makingithappen
Kicked-off this sunny weekend in style: with our colourful #maritimesister from another mister and fellow-entrepreneur @sasjahagens ! Great recipe for a loooot of cool ideas, so keep an eye out for this trailblazing artist! And for our next steps..🙌
#ships #port #art #neverenoughcolour #colourfulsisters #tobecontinued… @wista_netherlands
#getpropelled, literally!!
Not the way we prefer to see ships, yet exploring the 1980 #Zenobia wreck was mindblowing! Amazing to dive into the beautiful underwaterworld of Cyprus, at the crossing of 3 continents and thus important tradelanes (explaining the many wrecks).
And right before we ‘dive’ into the content of the #WISTA2024 conference where we gather with maritime women from all over the world in key positions, discussing a #sustainablemaritimefuture along with the role women play to accelerate that transition 🙌 Curious? Reach out or check out @wistainternational International
#wista24 #wistainternational
#wistacyprus #womenwhomovetheworld
Special thanks to TD Diving and for the record: text on propeller was already there!
@windenergy_hamburg 2024 here we come! Nice catching up with our network, meeting new people & learning the latest #offshoreenergy developments. Looking forward to #TurningTheTide and discussing the carbon negative movement together with @fugro!
#offshorewind #offshore #windenergy #getpropelled
#Frissewind brengt de nieuwe @netherlands_maritime_tech & @iro_netherlands directeur Jeroen de Graaf die wij eerder deze week ‘op sleeptouw’ namen langs vernieuwende maritieme en offshore spelers in de gehele keten!
Met @wista_netherlands Lihua Yuan en Maarten Sickler van @conoshipinternational doken we in de plannen van de #greenmaritimecoalition, slim engineeren én samenwerken om die toekomstbestendige schepen ook hier concurrerend te realiseren. Interessante input voor de #werfvandetoekomst!
Vervolgens naar buiten voor een #circulair rondje M4H én een goed gesprek met Mischa Habermehl van @alewijnsebv over de materiaal, economische en gewichtseffecten van slimmer kabelgebruik aan boord #winwinwin.
Martijn Koppert van @twd_engineering en Jan Dirk Hudig van Barge Master praatten ons in de melting pot van culturen van hun gezonde kantine bij over slimme oplossingen om #offshorewind veilig, snel(ler) en economischer te realiseren #feederen #secondarysteelvessel.
Géén after-lunch dip dankzij Pieter van der Burg van Nesec Fund Management die hun plannen voor het Maritime Emission Reduction Fund deelde en waarmee we de mogelijkheden van het financieren van #circulairestappen bespraken.
Door naar bootjes kijken bij @vanoord_official met Jorn Bertens. Zowel van buiten als van binnen, want met hem doken we in de aandrijving en performance van schepen: waar gaat de energie naartoe en welke (technologische) interventies zijn kansrijk? #retrofitting
En een afsluiting in stijl met een rondleiding door Martijn Nobel, Johan Krijgsman en Wouter Huig over de werf van @zwijnenburgyachting vol toffe projecten en de kers op de taart een prachtig #circulair voorbeeld: een 50-jaar oud baggerschip dat reeds 25m is verlengd en 6m is verbreed en wordt omgebouwd van een splijtbak naar sleephopperzuiger voor een tweede leven in Brazilië.
Kortom: we hebben ons #circulairehart én veel #foodforthought over verder kijken dan een scheepslengte én je eigen bedrijfsgrenzen opgehaald. Dank allen!!
SMM Hamburg was top! Niet alleen maakte minister Reinette Klever kennis met de #maritieme sector op het NMT | Netherlands Maritime Technology paviljoen.
We hebben ook de #circulaire casussen en #samenwerkingen tussen Duitse en Nederlandse maritieme bedrijven verkend en verder uitgewerkt tijdens het netwerkdiner van Gemeente Rotterdam, Provincie Zuid-Holland en Smart Delta Drechtsteden. Super om hiervoor inhoudelijke onderwerpen en ons netwerk aan te dragen.
Leuk om aansluitend nog even het Damen klantenevent te ‘party crashen’, goed bij te praten met oud collega’s en natuurlijk klanten.
‘Driving the maritime transition’ is wat maritiem Nederland zeker heeft gedaan deze week! Dank voor alle goede en leuke gesprekken. En Bruno Tideman van Tideman Boats voor de geweldige demo van jullie onverwoestbare vaartuigen!! #getpropelled #sustainablemaritimefuture #betterthanbubbles
#SMM2024 here we come! Excited to bring together German and Dutch maritime players to foster circular collaboration and accelerate the frontrunner cases present at the #circularnetworkingdinner tonight.
Let’s #makeithappen Gemeente Rotterdam, Provincie Zuid-Holland, Smart Delta Drechtsteden, NMT | Netherlands Maritime Technology & CirclesOfLife, Center of Maritime Technologies gGmbH and BlueCity (010)!
Ánd looking forward to reconnect to the maritime network, let us know if you want to grab a coffee (or…)!
Wow na 40 jaar gaat Mr. offshore wind Ruud de Bruijne met pensioen! Wat heb je veel bereikt door samen dingen te DOEN, op z’n tijd ambtelijk ongehoorzaam te zijn en je hard te maken voor verandering. Super om bij je ‘afscheid’ van Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland (@rvo.nl ) aanwezig te zijn! En tot snel als ere-lid van de Q-meeting. Wat Maritime Sisters betreft ben jij wél #toekomstbestendig 😉.
#offshorewind #offshoreenergie
Work hard, play hard! That’s how we and @smartportrdam roll 🙌 Another exciting project coming up!
Sunny DEEPdive into the fascinating survey world of DEEP! Very cool to board the newest fleet member: MPSV Miranda, this multi purpose support vessel has just been converted into a state-of-the-art survey vessel with amongst others the Iron Lady UXO Gradio setup that was developed in-house. Thanks for the invite Dieuwertje and fair winds and following seas for the DEEP team!
Visit to Commodity Center Amsterdam, followed by a brilliant port tour on the ms de Jordaan!
From Vlissingen to Delfzijl, where Her Majesty Queen Máxima performed the christening for Royal Wagenborg’s Easymax vessels ‘Máxima’ and ‘Alexia’ during Delfsail.
“Groningen is the Silicon Valley of European shipbuilding” as Egbert Vuursteen CEO of @royal_wagenborg put it, where innovative and state-of-the art ships like the Máxima - leading the global Energy Efficiency Design Index - are built. Awesome to be there and good to see you Yvonne Hoogerwerf and Thecla Bodewes! And of course Theo Klimp, thank you for the invitation!
ROG Ship Repair & Rotterdam Offshore Group too bad we had to miss your 10 year anniversary. Congratulations and we will make it up soon!
#maritime #shipbuilding #innovation
#sustainablemaritimefuture #getpropelled #delfsail
Visiting the WCM Zephyros fieldlab in Vlissingen with Jan Vos during #windday2024. Check it out if you (want to) work in #offshorewind #nedzero
Maritime Sisters
How do we complement each other?
Together we cover the entire innovation spectrum. With a master in (international) business administration and corporate experience in innovation, communication and marketing. From idea generation and conceptualization, to marketing and commercialization.
Our entrepreneurial approach is characterized by decisiveness, humor and our ability to reframe. This is combined with our social skills – enabling us to get the best out of people – and leading to refreshing outcomes.
Sylvia brings structure and Marjolein brings creativity to our collaboration. And while Marjolein’s power is to get to the bottom of things, Sylvia’s is cutting cords.
References
What others say (about us)
- Prof. José Luis Álvarez, Senior Affiliate Professor INSEAD
- Hayat Chedid, Managing Partner Upshot
- Arnout Damen, CEO Damen Shipyards
This allows our company to also tap in and to keep a shared vision on the diversity mission.”
- Erik de Neef, Chairman/CEO Rotterdam Boatmen KRVE
international top position.”
- Thecla Bodewes, DGA Thecla Bodewes Shipyards
- Paul Smits, CFO Joulz B.V.
- Martin Bloem, Maritime Ambassador
maritime sector.”
- Karin Orsel, CEO MF Shipping Group, Royal Association of Netherlands Shipowners (KVNR), Vice Chairman & Board Member International Chamber of Shipping (ICS)
and is keen on making a difference.”
- Despina Panayiotou Theodosiou, President Electricity Authority of Cyprus, CEO Tototheo Maritime
A reliable partner-in-crime. Individually Sylvia and Marjolein are very strong, but as sisters they are unstoppable!”
- Femke Brenninkmeijer, CEO NPRC, Chairman Investment Committee BOM, Board Member NL Groeit
Let's talk
We are heading for a future-proof maritime sector by bringing out the best in innovation in organizations.
Get propelled
"*" indicates required fields