Damen Naval Corporate Communication Advisor Eefje Koppers sails aboard CSS Den Helder

If you get the chance to sail on the newest Royal Netherlands Navy ship, you grab it with both hands. Even if you generally get seasick just by looking at a ship. At the end of 2024, the new Combat Support Ship (CSS) Den Helder undertook its first sea trials from Galaţi to Vlissingen and I got to travel on board from Palma de Mallorca to Lisbon. The reason was twofold: on the one hand, to learn as much as possible about a working naval ship and, on the other, to tell the story of the work of our people on board.

Text and photos: Eefje Koppers

On a sunny Sunday afternoon in Palma de Mallorca, I pulled the laces of my new work boots a little tighter. A little nervous, but mostly very excited, I was waiting for the taxi that would take us from the hotel to the local naval base. Waiting with me was quite a club of other ‘opstappers’: three colleagues from Vlissingen, one from Gorinchem and a number of Romanian colleagues and subcontractors. We were taken to the ship by water taxi. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get a really good look at the CSS, as it was already dark by the time the transfer boat dropped us off at the bottom of the stairs. Nevertheless, it was impressive to finally see the ship in real life.

It was the beginning of a journey full of wonder, learning opportunities, unique experiences, fun conversations, long days, and special moments. One of the first things that stood out was the lighting. As soon as it got dark, the lights switched from white to red. This has a logical reason, because it allows your eyes to get used to the dark faster when you suddenly have to go outside or on the bridge. But if you don’t know that, because you’ve never been aboard a working naval ship before, all those red-lit corridors and cabins look strange. Just as it is simultaneously very logical as well as funny that all the chairs are strapped to the tables and desks to keep them in place when the sea gets rough.

I shared my surprisingly spacious cabin with Loes from COMMIT. The first night I did not sleep a wink because of all the new impressions, noises and a bed that was a lot narrower and harder than I am used to. Fortunately, I quickly got used to it, especially as I rolled into bed dog-tired every night. An important tip: if you use your mobile phone as an alarm clock, set your time setting to manual, not automatic. This is because the time on board does not always correspond to the time zone you are in. That way you don’t end up like me sitting in the central dining area an hour early wondering why there is no food and why there are no people around.

Thanks to the detailed maps hanging everywhere, you have to try very hard not to get lost. Nonetheless, on one of the first days I spent a suspiciously long time looking for my cabin only to find that it was one deck up. And then there was that one evening when I, with my book under my arm, walked into the commanding officer’s cabin rather than the officers’ day room which was in exactly the same spot, only one deck lower…

It was with intense admiration that I watched the Damen Naval colleagues at work. They worked such long days. Breakfast was served between 6.30am and 7.30am and by 7.15am, the first briefing of the day was already scheduled. The last meeting of the day was at 7pm, but they continued working for hours after, sometimes well into the night. During the day, there were numerous meetings and briefings between Damen Naval, COMMIT, and the crew. During these, the ship’s performance was discussed, any problems and areas for improvement were reported and the various Sea Acceptance Tests (SATs) were prepared to ensure that all conditions for the test were met. For example, some manoeuvring tests had to be carried out when all four diesel generators were online and other tests required certain wind and weather conditions or deep or shallow water.

Many different tests and measurements were carried out every day. It was a challenge to keep up with everything, especially since not all tests are equally visible. There were also measurements, for vibration and noise, which could only be carried out at night and required our colleagues Arjan Thiellier and Werner Verhaegen to visit every cabin or compartment of the ship. The challenge was not only finding room for all the SATs in the crowded schedule, but all the results had to be verified and certified by the DNV classification society team. Of course, there were tests that could not be completed in one go and then a new time had to be found to redo the test.

Two impressive SATs were scheduled on Wednesday: the deck fire extinguishers and pre-wetting. In the morning, the foam extinguishing systems on the helideck and at the Replenishment At Sea (RAS) installations were tested. If a fire breaks out during fuel transfer or a helicopter crashes, a substantial layer of foam is needed to extinguish the fire. And we had a first, as the CSS is the first Dutch naval vessel to carry InnoVfoam’s fluorine-free, biodegradable foam that does not harm the environment when used.

Three pallet crates were anchored on the helideck with straps to test the power of the foam cannons and see how much coverage the foam provided. First, the foam gun on port side was tested and the helideck turned into a white wonderland. The starboard foam gun added its own layer of foam and, finally, both guns were switched on at the same time. The system van be managed by remote control from the signal deck, so in emergencies no one needs to be on the affected deck. By the end of the exercise, the crates were no longer in place and were covered thickly in foam. The great thing is, the fire extinguishers can spray not only foam but also water, so after the test, the deck was nice and clean again. SAT completed!

Later that day, the first part of the pre-wetting started. This test was designed to see if the deck spray system could wash the entire exterior of the ship clean in case of, say, a chemical attack. All over the ship, even on the radars, the stairwells of the RAS installation, the bridge and the helideck, there are spray heads from which seawater is sprayed to rinse the ship. In the end, there was not enough daylight to complete the SAT, but the next morning the test was further finished. From the bridge, I had a front row seat as the system washed the whole ship clean in one go. Just in time for the ‘Sinterklaas’ celebrations with a barbecue on the helideck.

Make sure to also read the interview with Project Director Arjan Risseeuw and the stories of our team on board.