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GUEST COLUMN

RPPC guest column: Robert van Vliet


Robert van Vliet is Commercial & Development Manager at NPRC. In this guest column, he talks about the highlights of 2024 and shares his ideas for the year ahead.

Looking back at 2024, I am happy to say that the NPRC has had another dynamic year. From our position as a commercial cooperative organisation with offices in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, and with a fleet of 150 independently owned inland shipping vessels. Our geographical footprint of members has expanded, comprising Dutch, Belgian, German and, now for the first time, French member-owners.

We transport approximately 14 million tonnes over the European inland waterways; 95% of which comes from diverse dry bulk cargo streams, and the remaining part is related to project cargo and containers. This hugely diverse market represents one of our most important tasks: to answer the questions of ‘does the cargo match the fleet?’ and ‘does the fleet match the cargo?’. Optimising the logistics of this is a challenge that we enjoy on a daily basis.

One of my personal highlights of this past year has been our continued implementation of the biofuel HVO100 – Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil – as fuel of choice for a serious amount of our clients. 25 of our members have gained experience with HVO: a real success story. Offering CO2 reductions of more than 85% compared to conventional diesel, HVO is a highly suitable transition solution. Moreover, the NPRC barge owners making the switch to HVO have found this to be relatively straightforward.

From the road to the water
A crucial point: the subject of sustainability is much broader than alternative fuels. That’s why we are pleased to be currently in the middle of our fourth sugar beet campaign, together with our partners boosting the modal shift from roads to inland shipping. The numbers speak for themselves: transporting approximately 300,000 tonnes of sugar beet from Maastricht to Dinteloord via water is a major reduction of truck journeys.

Digitalization and sustainability
Looking forward to 2025, we want to do things even better. It’s our mission and strategy to be the leading player on digitalization and sustainability. We are working on the former by using smart logistics processes to improve the efficiency of inland shipping operations. As a data-driven organisation, we offer our clients an insight into their cargo flows via our digital portal, aiming to improve efficiency in multiple areas.

In terms of CO2 reductions, it is our aim to continue the shift to HVO, hopefully doubling the number of NPRC HVO-fuelled barges in 2025. This marks a significant reduction of CO2 emissions; therewith we contribute to the energy transition within our sector.

However, for vessel owners wanting to switch to sustainable propulsion, the most common obstacle holding projects up is the additional costs involved, especially if you are talking about hydrogen or battery power. This means that our aims are dependent on our clients: some of them look at HVO as a nice transition solution, and others are waiting for the right time to invest in a zero emissions solution. And although this produces some interesting discussions within the Golden Triangle of the NPRC, the shippers, and the barge owners, it is important to note that we are working together to increase the sustainability of the inland shipping sector.

Whether the topic of conversation is sustainability, logistics performance, digitalization or the modal shift, the NPRC remains a forward-thinking commercial cooperative. However, as 2025 marks our 90th year of operations, it is also vital not to lose sight of one of our key principles: that the composition of our fleet needs to be aligned with the cargo that our clients need transporting.

Want to know more?

Please send me a message.

robert van vliet, nprc robert van vliet

Robert van Vliet

Commercial & Development Manager