MBT HrMs supply ship "Poolster" A835 (1964) - Construction drawing Scale 1 : 100 (10.11.067)

Overview of H.M.S. Poolster (A-835), the Royal Netherlands Navy’s first regular supply ship:

General information

Type: Replenishment ship, Poolster class

Builder: Rotterdamsche Droogdok Maatschappij (RDM), Rotterdam (Hull number RDM-307, keel laid 18 September 1962, launched 16 October 1963, in service since 29 June 1964)

Cost: 22 million guilders (circa 1962)

Technical specifications

Displacement: ~16,800 t (fully loaded)

Dimensions: length 168.3 m, beam 20.3 m, draught ~8.2 m

Propulsion: 2 steam turbines, 22,500 hp, 1 propeller, top speed ~21 knots

Crew: approx. 200, with space for an additional 150–300 marines on short voyages

Capacity & systems

Cargo capacity: ~10,300 tonnes including ~9,000 tonnes of fuel, plus water, ammunition and store supplies

Replenishment points: seven RAS stations (fore, amidships, aft) via both British and American supply lines; cranes and hangar & helicopter deck for 2–3 Lynx (or Wasp) helicopters

Protection & additions

First Dutch naval vessel with a gas-tight citadel and ‘pre-wetting’ spray system against nuclear, biological or chemical fallout

Armed with 2 × 40 mm Bofors autocannons and depth charge racks; CIWS may be added to Zuiderkruis at a later date

Service with the Royal Netherlands Navy

Commissioned: 29 June 1964; first RAS operation on 14 October 1964 (to HNLMS Van Ewijck)

Undertook world tours, including Fairwind voyages (e.g. 1979 Far East, 1990 to Rio during Fairwind '90)

Decommissioned 28 July 1994, replaced by HNLMS Amsterdam/Zuiderkruis

Transfer & end

Sold to Pakistan: 28 July 1994; renamed PNS Moawin (A-20)

Incident in 2005: Major fire in Karachi; ≥53 fatalities, severe damage

Scrapped: decommissioned in April 2019 in Gadani, Pakistan

Significance & legacy

First purpose-built BOZ vessel of the Royal Netherlands Navy, with a significant impact on operational autonomy during the Cold War

Introduced chemical/nuclear protection technologies to the fleet

Model for successor Zuiderkruis (A 832)

Specifications: