Holland Shipyards Group to Build Training Platforms

Holland Shipyards Group has sealed its first contract with the Dutch Ministry of Defence.

The yard will construct two advanced floating training platforms, Uhlenbeck and Thetis, designed to support a wide range of maritime training operations for defence personnel. The contract also includes a 15-year maintenance period.

Both Uhlenbeck and Thetis are concrete structures built on pontoons and will be moored in Den Helder.

The Uhlenbeck platform (60 x 13.8 m) is tailored to provide operational dive training. It features:

• A robust concrete pontoon with technical installations and storage below deck

• A working deck with two knuckle-boom cranes for boat handling and lifting operations

• Boat storage and maintenance areas, including a workshop, protosorb room and mezzanine

• Instructional spaces including decompression and assembly rooms.

The larger Thetis platform (64 x 16 m) offers an extensive training environment across five decks, including:

• Changing rooms and gear storage for diving units

• Facilities for rinsing and drying dive equipment

• Control room and briefing areas for mission simulations

• Training setups for maritime boarding, underwater approaches, helicopter hoisting and fast-roping

• Direct connection to the Uhlenbeck platform for integrated operations.

This project team includes De Vries Werkendam, DWT Group, DMI-KBW, Antea Group and Royal Haskoning BV.