Sea Rangers launch new ship

Queen Máxima christens the new 23-metre sailing ship of the Sea Ranger Service Rotterdam on Wednesday 2 April. Built in-house at three different shipyards, this sailing vessel will carry out offshore work.

‘We wanted to build a sailing offshore vessel and that didn’t exist yet,’ says Sea Ranger Service founder Wietse van der Werf.

The 30-tonne vessel is 23 metres long and cost about € 1.25 million and was financed after a good business plan with loans. ‘We are going to recoup this with offshore assignments. We are not a charity and do not get subsidies or funds, we really focus on paid work.’ The draft is 2.4 metres, the displacement is 38 tonnes. On board is a John Deere 125 hp engine that meets all emission requirements. ‘We use it as little as possible.’

After the christening on Wednesday, multi-year contracts with the Port of Rotterdam Authority and the Royal Netherlands Navy will be signed. ‘What exactly we are going to do I cannot make known yet. In any case, we are going to ensure that young people can progress from us to the navy.’

Career

The Sea Ranger Service aims to offer disadvantaged young people a future in the maritime world. All candidates first go through an intensive nine-day boot camp, supervised by former military personnel, after which those selected are given a paid position for one year. They obtain their STCW Rating Deck licence and build up sailing days. ‘We then match them with employers, giving them a permanent job, for example somewhere on board. Almost 100 young people have found maritime jobs this way. That is very broad, such as a job in offshore, in the port, at a diving school or a water board.’

Work

According to Van der Werf, the ship was built very spartan as a real working vessel. ‘This is not a yacht with a nice teak deck, it’s just steel. On the aft deck, we also have a large hatch, where specific equipment we use at sea can be hoisted on board. From there it goes to a work area.’ On board are climate-measuring equipment, a sonar for hydrographic survey and drones for in-water and air surveillance.

The ship has a slender hull shape and is built to sail fast with a top speed of 10 knots. She has two lightweight carbon masts of 24 metres high and sail area of 300 square metres in ample wind.

Design

The ship’s design came from Dykstra naval architects. The keel was built in Amsterdam at shipbuilder Mirko Hoette, the outfitting was partly at Altena in Raamsdonkerveer and at Boelen Marine in Hardinxveld-Giessendam was the finishing of the cabins and all technical installations, among others. The lightweight carbon masts came from Seldén Mast. A total of 12 partners were involved, almost all of whom gave discounts given the social and sustainable impact of the project.
The full crew consists of four professional crew members and four Sea Rangers. Up front is a cabin for four Sea Rangers, near the engine room are two cabins for the captain, mate and sailors. ‘We can stay at sea for a fortnight if we have to, with a crew of eight. At least three crew members are needed to sail the ship.’

Assignments

Over the past six years, Sea Ranger Service has carried out 20 offshore assignments for the government and four commercial assignments. This was done with the 24-metre SV Fantastiko, a sailing vessel they chartered for this work. ‘We monitor maritime heritage at sea, we keep an eye on historical protected shipwrecks to make sure they are not illegally salvaged. We then sail patrols, we have caught divers several times.’

The new vessel will carry out paid light offshore assignments. ‘We carried out nature measurements on the Celtic Sea for the UK’s The Crown Estate last year. They are going to build the UK’s largest offshore wind farm there. Among other things, we surveyed the whale population. We were hired because we work sailing, but also because we offer young people from coastal areas a job opportunity.’

Other work consists of climate measurements for Rijkswaterstaat at sea. That includes taking specific water samples, which are later tested in a lab for certain values. For the Inspection of Environment and Transport (ILT), the Sea Rangers checked several times with drones whether containers were properly lashed to large ships. ‘We were thus able to help increase the ILT’s surveillance capacity.’

Some 100 parties are collaborating on the ship and the Sea Rangers Service’s mission. ‘At least 15 partners collaborated on the new ship, the young people come to us through different organisations, defence collaborates with the boot camp, we have clients and future employers for the rangers.’

The ship will start trial sailing in the coming months, from 2026 the ship will be used for offshore assignments. The ship’s name will be announced at the christening. ‘No, I’m not going to give anything away yet, not even hints,’ Van der Werf laughs.

Read the whole article by Tessa Heerschop in the Schuttevaer (Dutch).
Headline photo: The hull of the new ship not yet further unveiled.

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