HNLMS Johan de Witt midlife update one step closer

The midlife update (MLU) and necessary maintenance of the amphibious transport ship HNLMS Johan de Witt of the Royal Netherlands Navy are one step closer to fruition. The intention is that the scope of work will be completed by the end of 2022.

Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding, RH Marine and Damen Shiprepair Vlissingen are busy with the preparatory work. DSNS is focusing on the detailed engineering and validating the devised design solution for the vessel, while DSV is planning all the dock-related work (maintenance/repairs).

“DMO has asked DSNS and RH Marine to move ahead with the next phase of detailed engineering,” says Project Director Fer Tummers of DSNS, who coordinates the organisation between DSNS and RH Marine. “This involves developing the basic design into the detailed drawings that will allow work preparation and production to get started. Furthermore, our design solution has to be validated on board. In other words, checking whether what we have come up with on paper actually fits. This concerns a few dozen items; we will be working on this and the detailed engineering until the end of May.”

For the purchase of all the new equipment that will be installed on board, DSNS has secured a separate contract with the Defence Materiel Organization. “This includes the purchase of new pumps, new medical equipment and other components,” says Fer. “I expect that we will be able to start purchasing activities by early February 2021 at the latest.”

The division of work activities on the ship between DSNS/RH Marine and DSV is approximately 80/20 per cent. “Both parties are now going more in-depth, further refining the preparatory work,” explains the Project Director. HNLMS Johan de Witt is fourteen years old and has almost reached half its lifespan. The 176-metre long and 29-metre wide vessel is one of two Landing Platform Docks built by DSNS. The other is HNLMS Rotterdam. DSNS delivered the ships between 1998 and 2007.

As main contract partners for DMO, Damen Naval and RH Marine are jointly responsible for the execution of the entire project. The ship will receive diverse new systems and equipment. In that package, the modernisation of the electrical systems and onboard automation will be realized by RH Marine.