Dutch shipyard Damen Naval has handed over the new Combat Support Ship (CSS) Den Helder to the Dutch Ministry of Defence’s Command Materiel and IT organisation (COMMIT).
During a 24 March 2025 ceremony in Den Helder, the ship’s home port, Damen Naval Managing Director Roland Briene and COMMIT Commander Vice Admiral Jan Willem Hartman presided over the official handover of the ship, which will be commissioned on 1 October. An intensive training programme will follow, after which the ship will be ready for operations worldwide in mid-2026.
The handover of Den Helder marks the first phase in the large-scale fleet renewal programme for the Royal Netherlands Navy (RNLN), with the CSS being an important addition to the RNLN fleet and also to NATO capabilities. It will supply other Dutch naval vessels with fuel, food, water, ammunition and spare parts and will additionally serve as a floating hospital.
“It is a special moment to hand over this complex and robust ship to COMMIT,” stated Damen Naval Managing Director Roland Briene. “From Vlissingen, the Den Helder has now arrived in its home port of Den Helder. The CSS is the first in a series of ships that will strengthen and modernise our fleet. With this, the Netherlands once again plays an important role in European naval shipbuilding. Co-operation in the production of defence materiel is becoming increasingly important, and Zeeland demonstrates it is playing at the highest level.”
Damen Naval Project Director Arjan Risseeuw added, “After an intensive outfitting period in Vlissingen, we carried out a number of final tests during the transit of the ship to Den Helder. We have now largely addressed the points for attention from the earlier sea trials. Following the handover, we will assist with the integration of the weapon systems with the platform systems and finalise the remaining outstanding tasks. It has been a wonderful period of shipbuilding in Vlissingen, which certainly leaves us wanting more.”
“It feels good that the CSS is now in the port of Den Helder and that I have the honour of receiving the ship on behalf of COMMIT from Damen,” said COMMIT Commander Vice Admiral Jan Willem Hartman. “During the sea trials, the CSS performed as the robust supply vessel the Royal Netherlands Navy needs. Along with a new ship being handed over, we are also receiving all the ILS data required to ensure the ship’s continued operation. This means a significant part of the maintenance and support for the future is already being provided, ensuring the ship’s long-term readiness. As strategic partners, I have every confidence that we will continue to work together in close co-operation.”
Den Helder was built at the Damen Naval yard in Galați, Romania, and departed from there in November 2024 for its first sea trial and the voyage to the Netherlands. The ship arrived on 13 December 2024 in Vlissingen-Oost, where Damen Naval carried out further work. On 22 February 2025 the vessel was christened by Her Royal Highness Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange: the heir apparent to the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
On 14 March the CSS departed the Vlissingen yard to continue with sea trials. Various Sea Acceptance Tests (SATs) were conducted, including a replenishment at sea (RAS) with the Rotterdam-class landing platform dock HNLMS Johan de Witt. Now that the ship has been handed over to COMMIT, work will continue under the responsibility of the Dutch Directorate of Materiel Sustainment (DMI) and Joint IV Command (JIVC), which will begin commissioning the ship’s sensors, weapons and command system and manage the hardware-software integration within the ship’s combat management system.
