Maritime sector in the Northern Netherlands

Friesland is the home of a number of shipyards and maritime-related industry, and is in the unique position of having several ports and maritime clusters along one stretch of water. The province has the exceptionally large van Harinxkanaal running 37.5km from the North Sea port of Harlingen, through the inland port of Franeker, and along past several smaller towns to the provincial capital of Leeuwarden. Along this stretch of canal are more than 100 maritime-related businesses, from multi-generational shipyards, to companies specialising in off-shore technology, and various storage facilities for both cargo and craft themselves.  

Leeuwarden itself is home to an exceptionally well-regarded training school for would-be sailors: the ROC Friese Poort. As part of the Maritieme Academie Holland, the ROC Friese Poort has access to a wide range of partner institutions, meaning that a whole range of maritime-related courses can be provided. Courses can be tailored, and companies can specify if they would like an employee to receive training in just one area, or many. Subject areas include safety training in shipping, water-sports industry readiness, courses in ship and yacht-building, and many more.  

Just to the north of both Groningen and Friesland lie the Wadden Islands- which aside from being a UNESCO world heritage site and the location of significant numbers of studies into the marine ecosystem, also hosts the Willem Barentsz Maritieme Instituut on the picturesque island of Terschelling. The institute has three main areas of study, aside from its teaching courses: marine milieu and safety management, innovative maritime techniques, and maritime law.  

The Barentsz Institute is not the only place for training would-be sailors, shipbuilders, and other marine-related roles in Friesland. Harlingen is home to the Maritieme Academie Harlingen, which is a residential academy for all things seaborne. The Province of Friesland is even home to its own research institute into maritime history at the Fryske Akademy. 

The province of Groningen also has a significant number of marine-related institutions. Within the province, there are more than 100 maritime-related companies employing over 4,000 people. In early 2019 it was announced that the Groningen Maritime Board would be formed, headed up by the CEO of the Royal Wagenborg group of companies (headquartered in Delfzijl), Egbert Vuursteen. At the same meeting it was announced that the province would put 15 million Euros into the Nesec Shipping Debt Fund, which has a total of 250 million euros to be invested into ship financing, to make up for regular banks’ general resistance against lending to maritime-related activities. Waterborne transport is also one of the planks of Groningen and the whole Northern Netherlands’ wish to find more efficient uses of energy- as shipping is the most efficient way of transporting goods.  
Around 60% of all owners of coastal shipping boats are located in the Northern Netherlands, and around 90% of all Dutch coastal shipping boats themselves are built in the North.