Combat Support Ship (CSS) Den Helder (A834) arrived in Vlissingen on 13 December 2024 after successfully completing her maiden voyage and sea trials.
The new supply ship for the Royal Netherlands Navy departed from the Damen Naval shipyard in Galați, Romania on 16 November for her Sea Acceptance Tests (SATs) and is now in Vlissingen-Oost for the final outfitting phase of the project.
In the coming months, the finishing work will be carried out before the CSS is handed over to the Netherlands Ministry of Defence’s Materiel & IT Command (COMMIT) in spring 2025.
“It is wonderful to have CSS Den Helder at the quayside in Vlissingen,” says Damen Naval Managing Director Roland Briene. “Designing and then working with numerous suppliers to construct a large and complex naval ship like the CSS is a process of years and it is great to now be able to admire the result of all that hard work.
“This unique ship is the first of a whole series of vessels that we as national naval shipbuilder and strategic partner of the Netherlands Ministry of Defence will deliver to the Royal Netherlands Navy in the coming years.
“Working together with our national suppliers, we are accelerating and intensifying the coming programs for the renewal of our naval fleet. In Vlissingen, we are already rolling out the Maritime Manufacturing Industry Sector Agenda, which is receiving growing political support. We are bringing the core of naval construction back to Vlissingen and Zeeland, giving a major boost to the region.”
CSS Den Helder is the replacement for the supply ship HNLMS Amsterdam, which was decommissioned in 2014. The state-of-the-art supply ship can provide naval vessels with fuel, ammunition, water, food and spare parts.
The CSS is deployable worldwide and can operate under high threat, protected by frigates. It can also be used to provide emergency assistance and transport goods. The ship will soon be equipped with a Role-2 medical facility and can carry a helicopter. The nearly 180-metre-long ship will have a 75-strong crew and can take another 75 people on board.
