• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

‘Zr.Ms. Den Helder’ - Combat Support Ship

In the future, the Combat Support Ship (CSS), or supply vessel [ bevoorradingsschip] or tanker, will have to supply marine vessels of the Dutch fleet with fuel, spare parts and ammunition. The CSS is smaller than the JSS, but still the same capabilities as much as possible, icluding architecture and design, the command system, the armament and the use of (sub) systems such as radar.

In 2017 it became known that this capacity will be added to the fleet. The ship must be put into service in 2023 The Combat Support Ship must supply naval vessels in the area of operations. The Dutch navy once had two supply ships, but the last - the Zr. Ms. Amsterdam - was put out of use in 2014 and sold to Peru. For a new ship, 250 million to 1 billion euros will be allocated.

The name of the new supply vessel of the navy is known: the Combat Support Ship 'Zr.Ms. Den Helder'. The Secretary of State for Defense Barbara Visser announced this 09 November 2018 in the unveiling of the ship's model at the Maritime Research Institute (MARIN) in Wageningen.

It is the first time in the history of the navy that a warship gets the name Den Helder. "That does justice to the cooperation between the city and the navy," says Visser. The choice for the name fits within a tradition in which warships get the name of Dutch cities. "In addition, there is also an important symbolic consideration," Visser explained. "The city of Den Helder is the logistic home base for all Dutch and for some Belgian warships. In the case of operations at sea, the supply vessel will offer the same logistical support with that name."

The Combat Support Ship is a new supply vessel for the Royal Netherlands Navy. The ship supplies other naval vessels at sea with fuel, ammunition and goods. The Netherlands will soon have access to Zr.Ms. Karel Doorman about a second ship that can carry out these tasks. The new tanker will be operational for the navy from 2023 and will be built by Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding. The ship is the first new naval vessel in a series of new construction projects. In the coming years, the Defense organization will replace its mine hunters, m-frigates and submarines.

The Netherlands had 1 supply ship, the joint logistic support ship (JSS) Karel Doorman . A 2nd, so-called combat support ship (CSS) should increase the effectiveness of naval vessels. They therefore have to leave the area less frequently for a port visit. With a second support vessel, the Defense organization can permanently have supply capacity at sea and also make it available to NATO. The CSS must be launched relatively quickly from 2023 onwards. The Ministry of Defense is taking the existing design of the JSS for this. This so-called 'buying from the shelf' has several advantages. Use can be made of gained knowledge and experience. And there are advantages in the maintenance and training and training of the crew.

In the Letter of Amendment to the Defense draft budget of November 17, 2017, EUR 400 million was added to the Ministry of Defense budget, this was the first part of EUR 1.5 billion that would go to Defense over four years. For that extra money, new equipment is purchased. One of those means is the Combat Support Ship. Incidentally, there was a lack of clarity as to whether it actually involved a new ship because the Defense newspaper spoke of " extra supply capacity at sea " and capacity can also be hired. Commander of the Armed Forces LADM Rob Bauer spoke about a ship in the TV program WNL on Sunday of November 19th: "The first piece of 400 million has been taken over last Friday. (...) We will use that for extra transport to rent in order to purchase an extra ship for the navy, which is called a supply ship. "

For the design the Damen LSV 19000 was used and large parts were taken from the JSS Karel Doorman design. The ships design was finished within 2 years from the start of the project. With 179,5 m length much shorter then her ''sister'' but the same tanker capacity (7700 m2 Diesel + 1000 m2 Aviation Fuel). With 2 RAS positions and 20x 20ft containers and 2 deck cranes. It has 2 RHIB's onboard and optional it can take 2 FRISC's for boarding operations. On the weapons not much info has been released but it will be fitted with 1 Goalkeeper CIWS and most likely with 1 30 mm Marlin on the bow + 2 12,7 mm Hitroles. For decoys the Rheinmetall MASS is planned on the artist impressions. It has a flight deck and hangar for the NH-90, likely 2 in the hangar. For sensors it looks like the Thales NS-100 radar and some phased array plates in the mast (comms), the mast itself is a special design with the funnels intergrated in the mast.

The ship is given two so-called supplies at sea positions (BOZ-Posities), so that it can supply two ships at the same time. On the deck there is space for sea containers, a helicopter deck, and a hangar for flight operations. For boarding and rescue operations and passenger transport, two RHIB motorboats are on board, and there is the possibility to further equip the ship with two FRISC interceptor boats. There are different weapon systems for self-defense.

On 19 December 2019 the Cabinet of the Netherlands’ Government has submitted a so-called D-letter to the Parliament, to begin the construction of the Combat Support Ship Zr.Ms. Den Helder. The D-letter, part of the Defense Materiel Process (DMP), is the conclusive letter announcing the procurement decision for a large military project. With this new ship, the supply capacity of the Royal Netherlands Navy (RNLN) will once again expand to two ships. The construction of this new, essential vessel for the RNLN’s fleet will be undertaken by Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding (DSNS).

Director of DSNS Hein van Ameijden was pleased with this move from the cabinet, and awaits the verdict of the Parliament. “De Schelde has been the most important supplier to the Ministry of Defence and the Royal Netherlands Navy for 140 years. Our specialty is in delivering complex naval vessels on time and within budget, always working with a broad chain of Dutch suppliers.” This month marks ten years since the last contract for a large Dutch naval vessel was awarded. Van Ameijden: “Fortunately, we have a healthy export market, so that in the intervening years we were able to maintain the level of expertise in the Netherlands. Together with our Dutch partners we have built ten frigates for international customers. In addition, at this moment we are building a complex ice breaker for the Australian Government. That is why we are now ready and equipped for the upcoming projects for the Royal Netherlands Navy."

The CSS is built by Damen in Romania, after which the ship’s final components and the combat management system will be installed in Den Helder. On 02 December 2020 at Damen Shipyards Galati, Romania, first steel was cut on the Royal Netherlands Navy’s (RNLN) Combat Support Ship (CSS) Den Helder. The cutting is the first of sixteen batches, totaling 7500 tonnes of steel in 180 sections. This marked an important milestone in this project, the first tangible part of the construction. The steel cutting was supposed to take place in February 2021. DSNS has brought the date forward in order to safeguard the project’s progress during the continuing coronavirus pandemic and to effectively manage the enhanced security rules that alter the way of working for the shipyard. Engineering of the vessel is taking place mostly in the Netherlands and the project will provide work for over 100, mainly Dutch, companies. To date, 47 contracts had been signed for the CSS, out of which 34 with Dutch maritime suppliers.

The new Combat Support Ship (CSS) is based on the design of the Joint Support Ship Zr.Ms. Karel Doorman. By taking an existing design as a basis, it is possible to deliver the ship in 2024. The almost 200-meter-long ship will have a 75-person crew and can also take an additional 75 people on board. There is room for several helicopters and around twenty containers. The engineering of the CSS largely takes place in the Netherlands and a large number of components will be delivered by Dutch suppliers. With construction of the CSS, the maritime supply capacity of the RNLN will be restored. The vessel will operate alongside the Joint Support Ship (JSS) HNLMS Karel Doorman and is based on the same design. The vessel can operate worldwide and under high threat, protected by frigates. Additionally, she can be used in the fight against drug trafficking, controlling refugee flows and providing emergency aid.

In addition to the Combat Support Ship, DSNS will build the new frigates replacing the M-frigates of both the Belgian and Dutch navies. The yard was also selected last week, together with its Swedish partner Saab Kockums, for the next phase in the replacement programme of the Walrus class submarines.