Text: Jörg Müller-Dünow
On board the lifeboat "NH 1816", stationed at the sea rescuers' headquarters in IJmuiden, the godmother Queen Máxima beams from a picture frame at the crew of six. The proximity to the royal house is emphasised in the Koninklijke Nederlandse Redding Maatschappij taken very seriously. The company has been ensuring safety along the 523 official kilometres of coastline in the Netherlands since 1824.
Comparison with Germany
If you include the marginal seas, the IJsselmeer and Markermeer as well as the estuaries in the delta region, there are almost 1,500 kilometres where 1,600 people are on duty around the clock at 45 stations with 75 boats. By comparison, there are around 1,000 sea rescuers at 53 stations in Germany, most of whom are also volunteers.
There are other parallels between the rescue companies on the left and right of the border: both use a variety of differently sized and specialised boat classes. In both cases, the patronage lies with the head of state. And both emphasise their financial independence over centuries and through all crises, as they are strictly financed by donations.
But the differences are also striking. In Germany, the DGzRS centre is also responsible for coordinating operations at sea. The Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC) in the Netherlands, on the other hand, is part of the state coastguard. The German rescue cruisers are more universally equipped and are also much more geared towards providing technical assistance, with powerful fire-fighting systems on board, among other things. Their colleagues in Orange, on the other hand, focus primarily on saving lives.
The most frequent uses of the KNRM
The majority of missions involve the evacuation of seafarers from sinking or burning ships as well as search and rescue operations for water sports enthusiasts. Of course, this also includes the salvage of boats and ships, provided this is possible without endangering anyone. In addition to the maritime rescue service, the KNRM also mans the towers on the beaches of the North Sea islands and watches over bathers and swimmers there. Last but not least: while in Germany many full-time rescue workers are on duty on the cruisers, the KNRM has been working almost exclusively on a voluntary basis for 201 years.
The "redders op zee" only operate boats with a maximum length of 19.7 metres. "That suits our operational profile," explains press spokesman Kees Brinkman in an interview with BOOTE. "Since the 1950s, we've primarily focussed on water sports and small vessels."
Nevertheless, there is no doubt about the fleet's limitless operational capability: "We need boats for all weathers. Our largest are designed to be able to rescue people even in force twelve winds." No boats over 20 metres will be built in future. From then on, additional regulations will apply, the boat would formally be a ship and the crew would need different licences. "We are faster with smaller units and they are easy to operate on a voluntary basis."
Structure of the Royal Maritime Search and Rescue Service
At the headquarters in IJmuiden, the gateway to Amsterdam and its harbours, around 60 people are employed in administration, around half of them in the technical area of the company's own shipyard. There are also four technical inspectors and four mobile teams of mechanics who travel to the stations. In addition, there is the administration with communication, fundraising and finance. Four operational inspectors maintain contact with the local clubs and the coxswains, as the foremen are known here.
Five metres further on is the station house, one of the oldest in the country. This is where foreman Richard van der Hammen brews fresh coffee. He is one of the very few full-time seamen at the KNRM who work exclusively on the largest units. Why not more? "Firstly, for cost reasons," says Kees Brinkman. "Secondly, we used to have three paid crew members on the large boats, but too few assignments to keep motivation and routine high. It also motivates the volunteers if they can reach positions such as coxswain, deputy or mechanic over the years - a kind of voluntary career."
The flagship of the fleet
Coxswain van der Hammen explains his boat with palpable pride: "Six crew members, 19.6 metres long, two jet drives with 1,200 hp each, which also work when capsized." The highest level of discipline prevails on board. "The helmsman has only one task and should only look ahead," says the captain, who sits in the second of the six full-suspension seats directly behind the driver.
There are two more jockey seats to port and two to starboard. The crew in the front row keep an eye on the radar and navigation, while behind them the focus is on radio and technology. Helmets are compulsory on board and communication is via wireless radios. "The roles may change from mission to mission, but once on board, each crew member has a clearly assigned place," says Brinkman.
The "NH 1816" is the flagship of the fleet and the model for a new class of boat that was commissioned in autumn 2025. "This is the largest shipyard order in KNRM's history," he says, "we are replacing the 13 largest units with a new model based on this ship and the Arie Visser-class RIBs." The entire fleet is to be successively modernised by 2035.
Boat classes for every area
The lifeboats are precisely customised to the local conditions. "We currently have five types," says Brinkman. The large offshore boats like those in IJmuiden, an 11-metre model for the North Sea and the IJsselmeer. There are also boats for the marginal seas, a 9-metre model for the delta waters and smaller second boats, previously RIBs, which will be replaced by new 7.5-metre aluminium models in the future. For large-scale operations, the coastguard supplements the fleet with three large emergency tugs, which are stationed along the coast at sea position, or with helicopters from Den Helder and Walcheren as well as SAR aircraft that take off from Schiphol.
Surprising at first glance: the KNRM units are not always in the water. Along the coast, large sheds dominate the image of the stations, where even the largest lifeboats stand on mobile hydraulic trailers that are driven into the surf by tractors. "Beach launches are over 100 years of tradition, but also logical," explains the press officer.
"Most of the missions take place within less than ten kilometres of the coast - surfers, kiters, swimmers, pleasure craft. The station network is so dense that we can usually be on site in under 30 minutes." And on many stretches along the west coast, there are simply no harbours. And even where there is one, the company opts for a beach launch: "On Terschelling, for example, the boat on the seaward side is important in winter because the harbour can freeze. Jet propulsion systems are particularly vulnerable in icy conditions, but you can always launch from the beach."
The picture in Harlingen is even more unusual: Here, the boat hangs from a davit over the harbour basin. And in most of the other stations, the units are lifted out of the water in floating boathouses using lifting equipment. "The system is expensive, but saves on maintenance costs," says Brinkman, explaining the calculation. Basically, no matter where the boat is and how it is launched, the crew is on its way to the casualty no later than ten minutes after the alarm is raised.
Young talent and training
One of the tasks of the station foremen, who coordinate the volunteers, is to ensure this. Each rescuer continuously reports their availability. In an app, the coxswain can see which and, above all, how many crew members are ready for action. His primary goal is therefore to keep the display on his app on "green" at all times. "Red means: the boat would be understaffed, must not set sail and the coastguard will be informed. That only happens rarely. Then the neighbouring station takes over," explains the press officer. At the same time, all volunteers at the station are notified and asked to check their status.
A large part of the work goes into recruiting new volunteers. "More than half come through friends or family - our stories arouse curiosity. We gain the rest through campaigns, especially social media." In the past, almost everyone lived and worked directly at the station. Today, around half of them live nearby, while the others live further away but work in the region. As a result, there is a division into day and night crews and the overall team size is increasing.
Newcomers undergo a three-year training programme. In addition to nautical skills, the curriculum includes radio, firefighting and medicine. Each station then has a training evening at least once a week with a clear focus. These local exercises are supplemented by centralised courses. These include personal safety and helicopter rescue. Coxswain candidates also complete additional training at the maritime training centre of a nautical school.
Scheveningen is the hotspot
Water sports are practised along the Dutch coast 365 days a year. The number of call-outs is correspondingly high: assistance had to be provided 5,008 times in 2024. This included 803 times by the radio medical service, 1,134 times by the lifeguards on the beaches and 1,006 times by telephone assistance. The fledgling assistance call centre in particular, which is designed to help solve problems over the phone without the need for a call-out, relieves the pressure on the stations, which still accounted for over 2,000 call-outs.
The alarm rings most frequently in Scheveningen - 156 times in 2024. "A large beach that is overcrowded in summer, a surf spot and a marina," says Kees Brinkman, explaining the accumulation. In second and third place are the marginal seas south of the IJsselmeer and the Rhine-Meuse Delta with the Wester- and Oosterschelde, Veerse Meer, Grevelingen and Haringvliet.
The hit list of deployments is hardly surprising: The front runner is the striking engine with 560 cases. Second place goes to groundings. Missing persons occupy third place with 164 missions. Sailors are at the top of the statistics for affected vehicles with 643 alarms.
Reassuringly, however: "We see no indication that water sports are developing in the wrong direction," says Brinkman. The number of water sports enthusiasts is growing steadily, but the number of SAR missions is decreasing. "There was a peak in the Covid years, after which it quickly declined. This is probably due to prevention - and certainly also to our Assistance Call Centre, which can prevent many call-outs."
A wish for recreational skippers
Above all, society wants recreational skippers to have more knowledge and experience. "Attending courses, getting to know your own boat, practising manoeuvres, instructing the crew, wearing life jackets: that's what our prevention campaigns are aimed at," says Brinkman. Water sports enthusiasts often overestimate themselves: "At the weekend, we often see that people have to take the boat home on Sundays and then set off in conditions that are too demanding for their level of experience."
Training, prevention, maintenance of the stations and new ships are financed in the Netherlands from a budget of around 32 million euros. Most of the donations come from inheritances. At the same time, the proportion of donations from companies is growing. And although the money has to be raised more actively these days, the number of donors has been increasing for years. Including many German water sports enthusiasts.
When asked about a change in funding, the response is categorical: "Voluntary work, donor funding and no payment after the rescue are our three cornerstones. If you change one of them, the system tips over - it could become commercialised, and commercial models are more vulnerable. As long as we tell the KNRM story, the donations will come. We won't change that.
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