The Noordzee class are a class of tugboats used by the Royal Netherlands Navy to dock their larger ships at the Nieuwe Haven Naval Base.Burger (2016), pp. 28-30.
History In January 2014 it was announced that the older tugboats were not capable enough anymore to handle the newer larger vessels like and the four oldest ships would be replaced by three Damen build hybrid tugboats. These would become the Noordzee class.
With the arrival of the first new tugboat, , the older tugboats did not prove completely useless when the power onboard Noordzee shut off due to contaminated fuel along the coast of North-Holland and had to assist. As an avocation to their main purpose they are used for trips with guests around the harbour.
Boats Noordzee class construction data Hull number Name Builder Launched Commissioned Status Picture Notes A871 Damen Group, Galati 11 July 2016 In active service A872 11 July 2016 In active service A873 11 July 2016 In active service
Namesakes All the ships are named after seas with current or former Dutch shores: HNLMS Noordzees namesake is the North Sea. HNLMS Waddenzees namesake is the Wadden Sea. HNLMS Zuiderzees namesake is the Zuiderzee.
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