HNLMS ''Snellius'' (A802) is a hydrographic

survey vessel A survey vessel is any type of ship or boat that is used for underwater surveys, usually to collect data for mapping or planning underwater construction or mineral extraction. It is a type of research vessel, and may be designed for the pu ...

of the

Royal Netherlands Navy The Royal Netherlands Navy (, ) is the Navy, maritime service branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. It traces its history to 8 January 1488, making it the List of navies, third-oldest navy in the world. During the 17th and early 18th centurie ...

. The ''Snellius'' has a sister ship, . ''Snellius'' is named after the mathematician

Willebrord Snellius Willebrord Snellius (born Willebrord Snel van Royen) (13 June 158030 October 1626) was a Dutch astronomer and mathematician, commonly known as Snell. His name is usually associated with the law of refraction of light known as Snell's law. The ...

who contributed significantly to hydrography.

Construction and service

The ship was completed in the Netherlands from a

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

n-built hull. The ships have different tasks: surveying the sea, operating as guard ship, representing the Netherlands at home and abroad, assisting maritime scientific surveys by the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

and assisting rescue operations. The current ''Snellius'' is the third hydrographic vessel with this name.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Snellius Snellius-class hydrographic survey vessels Survey ships Auxiliary ships of the Royal Netherlands Navy 2003 ships