Ship of the Year Award for revolutionary SAR boat
Damen Shipyards Group and its partners KNRM, Delft University of Technology and De Vries Lentsch Naval Architects have won the Royal Netherlands Society for Marine Engineering (KNVTS) ‘Ship of the Year Award’ for Nh1816, the first of a series of the SAR 1906, a revolutionary new Search & Rescue boat.
Jaap Gelling, Damen’s director of high speed craft, said: “We are absolutely delighted that this very special vessel has received this accolade. The SAR 1906 is sailing proof that investment in R&D and innovation works!”
The new type is the future ‘big boat’ of KNRM (the Dutch rescue authority), the so-called ‘Nh1816 Class’ (named after its sponsor, insurance company ‘De Noordhollandsche van 1816’).
“We started working on this next generation Lifeboat in 2009. Various concept designs were jointly made and these were extensively tested by Delft University of Technology. There is no other lifeboat in the world for which such an enormous amount of R&D has been carried out. The final design was only reached due to the excellent cooperation between all the parties.” Jaap Gelling added.
The SAR 1906 is a 35-knot self-righting vessel, with an aluminium hull and a composite wheelhouse. The hull design is based on the Axe Bow technology, adapted for the specific operations of lifeboats.
Damen delivered the first vessel to KNRM in the beginning of 2014. But the longer-term plan is that the SAR 1906 will replace the KNRM’s ‘Arie Visser Class’, which already has a reputation for being one of the best lifeboats in the world.
By Jake Frith
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