Nieuwe Haven is a

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 ...

base in

Den Helder Den Helder () is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Den Helder occupies the northernmost point of the North Holland peninsula. It is home to the country's main naval base. From here the Royal TESO fe ...

and the largest

naval base A naval base, navy base, or military port is a military base, where warships and naval ships are docked when they have no mission at sea or need to restock. Ships may also undergo repairs. Some naval bases are temporary homes to aircraft that usu ...

in the Netherlands.

History

Already before

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Willemsoord had become too small for major warships. The wet dock was long and wide. The entrance was at the long side, and by then even light cruisers were about long. In the 1920s the light cruiser ''Java'' of could not visit the wet dock. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the Dutch government established a commission to find a site for a new naval base. It was given a choice between

IJmuiden n IJ (digraph) and that should remain the only places where they are used. > IJmuiden () is a port town in the Netherlands, Dutch province of North Holland. It is the main town in the municipality of Velsen which lies mainly to the south-ea ...

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

Vlissingen Vlissingen (; ) is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands on the island of Walcheren. With its strategic location between the Scheldt river and the North Sea, Vlissingen has been an importan ...

.De Tij
Bouw nieuwe marinehaven vordert snel, 18 January 1952
accessed 20 September 2017 (via Delpher.nl) In 1947 it was decided Den Helder would become the Netherlands' main naval base.A.P. van Vliet, Vijftig jaar 'Nieuwe haven' 1954-2004,

NIMH NIMH may refer to: * Nickel–metal hydride battery (NiMH), a type of electrical battery *National Institute of Mental Health, an agency of the United States government * National Institute of Medical Herbalists, a professional organisation in the ...

. A definitive plan for the new harbor was completed in 1948 and estimated its cost at 29 million florins. For the construction of the new harbor an area east of the Nieuwediep was selected. Construction started in 1949 when the mouth of the Nieuwediep was dammed off. Reclaimed land was used to build the base. The new western part was officially opened in 1954 by .Opening van de nieuwe marinehaven in Den Helder (2 juli 1954)
NIMH. The rest of the base was completed in 1958. Since the move of the submarine service from Rotterdam to the ''Nieuwe Haven'', all naval vessels have Den Helder as their

home port A vessel's home port is the port at which it is based, which may not be the same as its port of registry shown on its registration documents and lettered on the stern of the ship's hull. In the cruise industry the term "home port" is also oft ...

. In 2015 it was reported that a new shore power supply was installed at the Nieuwe Haven Naval Base which consists of a high-voltage cable of 6.6 kilovolts. Future expansion - Nieuwe Haven Naval Base

Future expansion - Nieuwe Haven Naval Base

In April 2023 expansion plans were revealed for the eastern part of the base. This work is needed for two reasons: * The navy is replacing a number of ships over the coming years. This will expand the fleet, both in the number of ships and the size of the new vessels. * Safety reasons. Ships will not be allowed to be moored alongside each other when there are explosives (missiles, torpedoes, etc.) on board. The expansion is estimated to cost between €100 million and €250 million, and should be finished by 2029. It will include new mooring facilities and create more space on the

quay A wharf ( or wharfs), quay ( , also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more Berth (mo ...

s which can be used for storing containers and vehicles.

Facilities

Battery Testing Center

The Battery Testing Center (

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

: Accu Test Centrum; ATC) is a facility at the Nieuwe Haven Naval Base that was established in 1988 to test, charge and discharge batteries. Since its inception it has been primarily used to test and charge the batteries that are aboard the submarines of the Royal Netherlands Navy.

Central Sickbay

Central Sickbay (Dutch: Centrale Ziekenboeg; CZB) is a hospital that provides healthcare for personnel of the Royal Netherlands Navy.

Nieuwe Rijkswerf

Nieuwe Rijkswerf is a naval shipyard of the Royal Netherlands Navy that is used for ship repair and maintenance.

History

Facilities

Battery Testing Center

Central Sickbay

Nieuwe Rijkswerf

References

Further reading