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On 25 March 2025, the new Combat Support Ship (CSS) Den Helder was handed over to the Dutch Materiel and IT Command (COMMIT). During a ceremony in Den Helder, home port of the supply ship, Damen Naval Managing Director Roland Briene and COMMIT Commander Vice Admiral Jan Willem Hartman made the handover official.
A proud Roland said, “It is a special moment to hand over this complex and robust ship to COMMIT. The Den Helder will now move from Vlissingen to its home port in Den Helder, making the CSS the first in a series of ships that will strengthen and modernise our fleet.”
The handover: COMMIT Commander Vice Admiral Jan Willem Hartman (front left) and Damen Naval Managing Director Roland Briene (front right). Standing (from left to right): Commander of the CSS, Lieutenant Commander Stefjan Veenstra, Damen Naval Project Director Arjan Risseeuw, and COMMIT Project Manager CSS captain (RNLN) Joost Meesters.
CSS Den Helder is the result of intensive cooperation between Damen Naval, the Dutch Ministry of Defence, and the full chain of national suppliers. With this delivery, they are jointly taking the first step in the wider modernisation of the Dutch naval fleet. This also fulfils the Maritime Manufacturing Industry Sector Agenda by bringing the core of naval construction back to Vlissingen and Zeeland.
After sea trials of just over a month, the CSS arrived in Vlissingen on 13 December 2024. What followed was an intensive concluding period during which the official christening also took place on 22 February. After that final work in Flushing, the CSS left the yard on 14 March for a follow-up sea trial. During these sea trials, several Sea Acceptance Tests (SATs) were carried out, including a replenishment at sea with HNLMS Johan de Witt.
“It has been an intensive post-arrival period, but above all it has been a wonderful period of shipbuilding in Vlissingen, which certainly gives us a taste for more,” says Damen Naval Project Director Arjan Risseeuw. “During the journey to Den Helder, we dealt with the points of concern from the earlier sea trials to a considerable extent. After the handover, we are still assisting with the integration of weapon systems with the platform systems and finalising the last outstanding issues.”
The CSS upon arrival in Den Helder on Monday 24 March 2025.
Commander of COMMIT Vice-Admiral Jan Willem Hartman said it feels good that the CSS is now in the port of Den Helder and that he was able to take delivery of the ship on behalf of COMMIT. “During the sea trials, the CSS has behaved as the robust supply ship that the Royal Netherlands Navy needs. We are not only getting a new ship, but also all the ILS data for maintaining the ship. This already includes a degree of maintenance and support for the future, so that the ship will continue to sail smoothly. I am confident that we will continue to work together as strategic partners and with good mutual cooperation.”
Now that the ship has been handed over to COMMIT, completion will follow by the Dutch Directorate of Materiel Sustainment (DMI) and the Joint IV Command (JIVC). They will start work on commissioning the Sensor Weapon and Command System, and handle hardware-software integration into the Combat Management System. Damen Naval will remain closely involved in this work and subsequent sea trials. The ship will be commissioned later this year and will then receive the royal designation: HNLMS Den Helder. The ship will be handed over to the Royal Netherlands Navy next year.
During the festive christening ceremony, Crown Princess Amalia revealed the name sign.
Princess Amalia christens CSS
A month before the handover, the christening ceremony took place. Crown Princess Amalia came to Vlissingen for her first solo working visit and performed the official christening acts under great attention from national and international media. The 1,100 invited guests also included State Secretary for Defence Gijs Tuinman, Damen Shipyards Group CEO Arnout Damen, Deputy Commander Materiel Command and IT Major General Harold Boekholt, and Commander of the Dutch Naval Forces Vice-Admiral René Tas.
With the words “I christen you Den Helder and wish you and your crew a safe journey”, Princess Amalia pulled a rope, causing the bottle of champagne to slam against the hull of the CSS. As christener, the Crown Princess will maintain a special connection with the ship for the rest of its lifetime. After she symbolically unhooked the last mooring line with the ceremonial hatchet, the Marine Band of the Royal Netherlands Navy played the national anthem.
Roland Briene presented Princess Amalia with her christening coin: a gold coin from 1875.
For Roland Briene, the christening was one of his finest days as Managing Director. As host, he accompanied the princess and also presented her with the christening coin. This coin from 1875 is a symbolic payment for her services as christener and seals her bond with the ship. “It was a great day. With this christening, Princess Amalia continues a long tradition where the Royal Family is linked to ships for the Royal Netherlands Navy, designed and built by ‘De Schelde’, now Damen Naval.”
He further elaborated on the successful cooperation between the Ministry of Defence and the Dutch naval construction industry with Damen Naval as main contractor and national Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). “The christening of the CSS marks the start of a large-scale replacement and reinforcement plan of our Royal Navy fleet. It underlines our long-term and strategic cooperation with the Ministry of Defence where the focus is now on renewal and acceleration. Here in Vlissingen, the heart of Dutch naval construction, we are releasing resources and capacity for this urgent fleet renewal. To this end, we are working closely with a wide range of Dutch companies, knowledge institutes and, of course, the Ministry of Defence. We have been doing this for 150 years, and we will continue to do so.”
CSS Project Director Arjan Risseeuw (left) showed Princess Amalia around on board the CSS, together with COMMIT project manager captain (RNLN) Joost Meesters (right).
It was also a special day for Arjan. Following the speeches, he, together with COMMIT Project Manager captain (RNLN) Joost Meesters, showed the princess around on board. “It was fantastic to be able to show the princess around our ship. She was extremely interested, and it was a casual atmosphere where we could show her the ship in all her glory.”
Now that the CSS project has entered its completion phase, Damen Naval and the Ministry of Defence can focus on a series of programmes being developed in a strategic partnership. The programmes are based on the Defence Memorandum 2024 (Sterk. Slim. Samen, which translates to: Strong. Smart. Together), which aims to accelerate the return of the Armed Forces to strength, with long-term collaboration with strategic industries. Damen Naval is the national naval partner for this. It involves new Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) frigates for the Netherlands but also for neighbouring Belgium. It is also looking at replacing the Zeven Provinciën-class Air Defence and Command Frigates, new Amphibious Transport Ships and smaller auxiliary vessels such as the Multirole Support Ship (MSS).
See a photo selection of the christening here:
