Netherlands Article

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Nether Nether Land

Oto

Nether Nether LandPaul Lemmer joins the Netherlands Coastguard for a once-in-a-lifetimeday in the life of experience to work alongside some of the mostexperienced boatmen of this modern generation.

Aally can turn their hand to just about anything

that relates to small-cra handling; Paul Hol-

lander is one such man and he would be top of

my list for expert tuition or to partner me on atough RIB mission.

Paul is the chief engineer on board the 43m

(142) coastguard cutter Zeearend (Sea Eagle),

based in the port of Hoek van Holland, and

he invited me to visit him on board the ship to

see rst-hand how the Dutch authorities patrol

their waters on the other side of the Channel.

One major dierence between the Nether-

lands and the UK is the interesting all in one

system for the various services. Unlike the UKwhere the Coastguard, Customs and Immigra-

tion all have their own separate sections and

therefore oen their own cra for patrolling

our waters, the Dutch have a member of each

of the services aboard one vessel. is allows

one cra to cover all the major authorities

and endows its personnel with powers to stop,search and arrest without having to resort to

communications with other authorities.

Paul met me at Schipol airport and we

headed directly to the port of Scheveningen,

near the Hook of Holland. On rst seeing the

Zeearend moored alongside the quay, I was

surprised how small she looked from the stern,

but looks can be deceiving and as we boarded

her I realised this was one very special and

spacious cra. e main living quarters, whichspan the entire width of the ship, are situated

amidships where there is the least movement

when at sea, and this lounge/dining area is

t Ribex 2007 I had the good fortune

to be oered a ride in the Dutch

KNRM lifeboat RIB, and upon

returning to the Cowes Marina berth aer aninteresting, if somewhat wet, ride across a very

choppy Solent, I was greeted by a genial Dutch

gentleman by the name of Paul Hollander.

At around 58 tall, with a smooth, virtually

hairless head, Paul looks like a younger,tter

and better looking version of yours truly; what

is more, he is a total RIB nut and spends his

working life at sea in a Dutch Coastguard cut-

ter, the ships RIB, or teaching specialist boat

handling for commercial, military and privatepersonnel in RIBs of all types and sizes. I have

met many waterborne experts in my travels

around the world but I have found few who re-


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very comfortable for the crew to relax in whennot on duty. Next to these quarters is a very

well- equipped galley where, as I was to

ndout during my time on board, excellent foodis prepared by the chef. Believe me, these guysreally do eat very well; I had two meals whilston board during my visit and both were of toprestaurant standards. ere are a total of twelveberths in the main accommodation area of theship, and I was impressed by the high standardof the facilities for the crew, the equipment attheir disposal and the layout of the vessel (evi-

dently the result of unusually close cooperationbetween the ships crew and the shipyard). Oneby one I was introduced to the crew which con-sisted of coastguard personnel (captain, chiefengineer, rst mate, rst engineer, sailor andcook), their duties being to operate and main-tain the vessel, and ve boarding crew compris-ing members from the dierent authorities.

Having been given the all clear to lookaround the ship by the captain, Paul was keen

to show me the engine room, one of the sec-tions of the cra that comes under his control.We descended the steps into the heart of theship, and as we stepped through the engine-room door I realised why he was so keen toshow me this section of the cra; the engineroom is massive (it takes up about a third ofthe length of the under-deck area of the vessel).With full standing headroom, this well laid-outarea is a model of eciency and the array ofmachinery was seriously impressive, but whatsurprised me most was the clinical cleanlinessof everything. Despite the thousands of hours

that she had been in service, there was no evi-dence that the engines had ever been run and

I did look very carefully around every nookand cranny of the engine room; there wasnt atrace of dirt. e two main engines are a pair ofCaterpillar 4176 bkW diesels, complementedby two 180kVA generators, one being heavilysilenced and almost inaudible.

When patrolling at their slow speed of12 knots, the ships engines are remarkablyeconomical, burning only 200 litres per hour,but at the higher patrol speed of 18 knots this

jumps to 500lph, and at top speed, 24 knots,1000lph! With 32,000 litres (7000 gallons)of fuel on board this gives an approximatemaximum range of 2000, 1200 and 800 miles

Y ld k d


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ing seaworthiness - she can maintain 15 knotsin a Force 9 - she would never be called upon

to maintain such high speeds for such a long

duration. ere was an operation when the

Zeearend tracked a vessel under surveillance

all the way from Belgium to the British territo-

rial waters oAberdeen, but this was a one o

and normally the ships personnel are expected

to have a 10-hour rest period in every 24 hours,

except under exceptional circumstances.

e fully enclosed wheelhouse/bridge hasone of the most panoramic views I have ever

seen on a vessel. Sitting up high, with 15mm-

thick toughened glass windows protecting the

crew from the elements, this is a great place

to survey everything going on in the vicinity.

ere is a quiet, relaxed, business-like atmos-

phere in this airy and light nerve centre of the

ship, and the battery of navigational, commu-

nication and surveillance equipment leaves youin no doubt as to this vessels purpose. ere

are two instrument stations, one forward for

the helmsman, captain and watch to steer and

navigate the vessel, and a second station behind

for additional crew to track, monitor and listen

in to trac in the area. I was allowed to helm

the cra (well, at least sit in the helmsmans

seat) whilst patrolling and I could easily see

why this is a sought-aer job for the lucky se-

lect few! All this was happening on a at, calmsea and I am sure it is a dierent story in rough

seas, especially when having to stop or slow

to check out a vessel or launch the onboard

8m standby RIB, which brings us to one of the

main reasons for the visit.

Right on the stern to port, nestling beneath

a substantial looking Caley type crane system,

is an 8m Duarry commercial RIB tted with

a Volvo D6 diesel sterndrive. e RIB wascarefully chosen and strongly built to give the

best results for its duties as a quick-response

vessel and, to ensure correct balance in all sea

states, it has the engine mounted ahead of the

helmsman, under the forward section of the

custom, aluminium steering console, coupled

via an intermediate drive sha to the duo

prop sterndrive. Ahead of the helm position,

a substantial keel-mounted aluminium frame

protrudes from below the deck, on top ofwhich is the crane quick-release/attachment

device for rapid launch and recovery in all

but the roughest of seas. e one-man leaning

post for the helmsman is supplemented by two

basic fold-up seats for another two crew, but

in reality the two or three other crewmembers

invariably stand around the console and hold

onto the various grab handles attached to it.

I donned my two-piece Helly Hansondrysuit and Crewsaver lifejacket and climbed

aboard the RIB as it sat semi-suspended, high

in its cradle on top the ships side. With the

Zeearend travelling at around 12 knots, and

following brief instructions from Paul on

the launch procedure, we were lied by the

crane and swung out over the side of the ship,

whereby Paul started the RIBs engine, engaged

gear and shouted for me to pull the lanyard

attached to the quick-release coupling a fewseconds aer we had hit the water. It went like

clockwork, for as we touched the water the

RIBs propellers gripped, and as the cra broke


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or the painter line may be let go at the wrongmoment in relation to the waves, with obvious

consequences. If the helmsman has not gotthe cra in gear or, worse still, got the enginestarted, the RIB could be released and immedi-

ately swept into the ships wash with resultingchaos. Proper training and experience can

make the most dicult manoeuvres look easy,

and once again this was demonstrated as Paulrepeatedly piloted the RIB up to the side of the

ship whilst it travelled at its 24 knots full speed.

Whilst undertaking this type of manoeuvreis not new for me on RIB-to-RIB exercises, it

was a whole new ball game coming alongsidea fast 43m coastguard cutter at 24 knots. ehuge wash and spume created by the Zeearend

was relatively easy to read and deal with, butthe deep trench le at waterline level on her

topsides was another matter, especially as this

can change with the speed of the ship and dif-ferent sized waves as the vessel rises and falls in

rougher seas.

Paul expertly brought the RIB alongside andaway again at varying speeds and then sug-

gested I try a simulated boarding exercise ontothe ship from the RIB at a steady, or perhaps

not so steady, 24 knots. We came alongsideand, grabbing a tight hold of the ships guard

rails, I stepped from the tube top of the RIB

straight onto the deck of the Zeearend withouta moments apprehension or hesitation; it was

that easy. Bear in mind that this was a calm

day and I had done boat to boat before but,as Paul pointed out, if you slipped or missed

whilst doing this exercise from RIB to RIB you

would probably just get wet, whereas from RIBto Zeearend you could get sucked under the

ship and, if really unlucky, through the props.Ouch, one hell of a manicure! One of the crew

thought that being British I would appreciate

a mug of tea and duly obliged by handing meone as we came alongside the ship on one of

our high-speed passes; amusing and a novel

picture for the album.Evidently, whilst we were playing, the

Zeearend had been trying to contact by radio

a 50 cruiser that they had spotted motoringsome distance away but could get no response.

e Zeearends captain suggested we might like

to pay them a courtesy visit, so we returned to

the ship to pick up the customs and immigra-tion crew so they could board the cruiser.

ree burly, armed, drysuited gures lowered

themselves into the RIB and we were o inpursuit of the cruiser. We approached from the

cruisers stern, apparently unnoticed, as our

three stealth ocers positioned themselvesand boarded the cra, two going into the cabin

whilst the third member climbed the steps upto the helmsman on the y bridge. e poor

chap up top must have had the surprise of his

life as he was confronted by a big, drysuitedgure requesting him to slow down. Paul and

I stood oa short distance while the ocers

went about their business which, dependingon what theynd, usually takes between 20

and 40 minutes, and sure enough, aer about

25 minutes, we were beckoned back alongsidethe cruiser to pick up the ocers. Everything

on the cra checked out correctly but then, aswe were about to head back to the Zeearend,

we diverted to a shing vessel, and aer a brief

conversation with a crewmember I was askedto jump aboard her and take some pictures

of the RIB coming alongside in a simulated

boarding exercise.Photo session over, we headed back to the

ship and I jumped aboard so I could get shots

of the RIB being recovered back onto themother vessel. Paul expertly placed the RIB on

the port side of the ship while the quick- re-lease/attachment hook was lowered from the

crane, and in one linear movement the cra

was attached, lied from the water and securelystowed to its cradle beneath the crane. In these

calm conditions the recovery took less than

a minute but I would imagine it is a dierentstory when the sea is rough.

With everything secure and with darknessclosing in, we headed back to Scheveningen

at a sedate 12 knots. In the warm wheelhouse

with the lights from the radar, GPS and otherscreens providing a pleasant glow, and the

twinkling lights from the shore and moored

ships adding to the atmosphere, I felt a greatsense of well-being. ere is something rather

haunting about night passages on a ship but

even more so when on the bridge of a vesselwith clear vision in all directions, and this was

a tting way to end a great experience with theZeearend and her crew; except the day was not

quite over! Once securely back on her berth,

the entire crew, including the captain and yourstruly, enjoyed an excellent dinner on-board in

a friendly and chatty atmosphere.

anks to the Netherlands Coastguard andPaul Hollander for putting up with me during

my time aboard and for putting themselves

out for me with my requests. e Zeearend isa very capable cutter and she is handled by a

very experienced, professional crew, but whata sensible set-up to have all the main legal

services on one vessel; it makes so much sense

and it really works in practice.Paul Lemmer

Netherlands Article

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