MBT 10.17.003 motor lifeboat "Bernard van Leer" (1965) - KNZHRM

Specifications :

The “Bernard van Leer” is one of five lifeboats of the so-called “Carlot class” of the Noord Zuid Hollandse Rescue Society (NZHRM). The boat was built in 1965 at the Niestern shipyard in Delfzijl, is 20.37 metres long, 4.5 metres wide and weighs 53 tonnes. The lifeboat is self-righting and has two 140 hp Kromhout diesel engines (type 8 TS 117), each with a five-bladed propeller. At maximum power, the boat travels at 10.6 knots per hour (over 19 km per hour) with an average fuel consumption of 15 litres of diesel per hour per engine. The boat is divided into 28 watertight compartments and has a range of approximately 1800 miles.

The Bernard van Leer, like the other vessels of the Carlot class, is a so-called enclosed lifeboat. Her illustrious predecessors from the Insulinde class and the subsequent Prins Hendrik class were open lifeboats steered from outside. The enclosed lifeboats could brave even heavier weather, and their self-righting capability was never needed during their rescues: none of the boats from the Carlot class capsized during rescue operations. Skippers and crew members who carried out their rescue work on these vessels are still very positive about the performance of these boats: “...you notice what the ship does in heavy weather; it regularly listed so much that the water reached the top of the wheelhouse windows, but capsize, no, the ship always righted itself again... that gives you enormous confidence in her capabilities,” according to a former crew member.

The Bernard van Leer served for 32 years at Scheveningen station; from 1965 to 1997, she defined the face of the harbour there. She has several spectacular rescues to her name. The most famous is that of the radio ship Veronica on 2 April 1973. During a force 12 gale on the night of 2 to 3 April, the Veronica broke free from its anchors. The Bernard van Leer set sail and rescued the entire crew.