Hull parts of new naval vessel ‘Den Helder’ launched: “Special moment”

“It remains impressive to see that 4,300 tons of steel slide into the water,” says captain at sea Glijn van Marion, who is involved in the construction of the ship as project leader at the Defense Material Organization.

He was also previously involved in the construction of the Zr. ms. Karel Doorman, the sister ship on which this design is based. “It remains a great moment, especially for the people on the site. If it floats, as calculated, you know you’ve done well.”

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The two coupled parts of the hull that have now been launched are being towed to a dry dock where a third part is already waiting. There they will be united and after that the bow section will be added.

“I think that the entire hull will be one piece by mid-May,” explains project leader Van Marion, “After that, construction will increase. For that, the ship will have to be moved to a deeper part of the dock, because the weight means that they will have more space. depth.”

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The construction of the ship is on schedule, they are even ahead of schedule, but there are also concerns. The war in Ukraine is causing extra alertness. “At the moment the war has no influence on the construction of the Combat Support Ship. Everything will continue as usual and construction is proceeding according to plan. But we are of course keeping a close eye on that,” says Van Marion.

The war also makes clear how necessary this new ship is, believes the project leader: “This ship will remove shortcomings in the field of supplies at sea, current events only make that clearer. Defense now only has the Zr. Ms. Karel Doorman. as a supply and support ship. She is often deployed in our partnership with the Germans. But at the same time we also want to be able to operate independently. A second supply ship to supply the other naval ships of our own is therefore urgently needed,” says Captain Van Marion.

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In good practice, a ‘lucky coin’ was incorporated into the ship earlier, when the keel was laid last June. “We looked for a suitable currency for this. It has become a half guilder from 1822. That was the year that the then naval port in Den Helder was officially transferred to the Navy,” explains Van Marion,

“It’s a traditional and ceremonial custom. In the old days, with the wooden ships, they put the coin under the mainmast. Now we’ve welded it into the bottom of the ship. It should bring prosperity to the ship and the crew.”

When it is ready, the ‘Den Helder’ will first go on a trial run. Van Marion: “For the time being in the Romanian region. But we are also keeping an eye on that. In June 2024 it will then come to Den Helder where all the specific systems of Defense will be installed. It is expected that the ship will be fully deployable a year later. Then it will also be officially employed by the Navy and she will be officially called Sr. Ms. Den Helder. You can notice that there is a lot of interest in this ship because of the name. I think there are also a lot of people in the Den Helder region who think it is wonderful that the ship is now given this name.”