Eekels informs it has been awarded the TBI Innovation Prize 2013 for its “Slow Steaming” entry. The vote was taken at the TBI TOP250 and no less than 66% of those present voted for Eekels’ ingenious technical innovation. Eekels was one of the 3 nominees that had been chosen from 34 entries by a jury chaired by Maxime Verhagen (chairman of Bouwend Nederland, the Dutch Construction and Infrastructure Federation). Eekels explains that due to the economic downturn, the freight rates in the shipping industry have been under pressure.