RV Adriaen Coenen

RV Adriaen Coenen is the smallest vessel in the NMF fleet. She is mainly used for  day trips, transporting scientists and samples between NIOZ on Texel and the research areas in the Wadden Sea such as the Balgzand and the bird observatory on the island of Griend. Its design allows the vessel to pass the slack waters at low tide and beach itself on the mudflats. 

Small research vessel making a quick turn, photographed from the air

Design

RV Adriaen Coenen is equipped with facilities for twelve scientists, assistants, students and other passengers, and two crew members. With a maximum draught of 1 meter and a specific hull design, the vessel can cross watersheds in the Wadden Sea at high tide and ground during low tide. The new vessel can tow or push small objects such as the 'Wadtower'. For research activities, the vessel is equipped with hoisting equipment, a spacious working deck - with room for two rubber dinghies or a 10ft container- arrangements for deployment of ADCP and multi-beam equipment, wet and dry laboratories, ICT infrastructure and communication equipment. 

Specifications 

  • Length: overall: 19  m
  • Beam: 5 m
  • Max. Draught: 1 m
  • Material: Aluminium
  • Max. Speed: 20 knots
  • Accommodation for 2
  • Max. number on board: 12 + 2 (crew) 
For more information, please contact the NMF coordinator

Construction

In March 2021 the NWO-I Foundation Board approved the NIOZ investment for the construction of the second new ship in the national research fleet. The seriously outdated support vessel RV Stern was in urgent need of replacement. Next Generation Shipyards in Lauwersoog won the tender to build the RV Adriaen Coenen. She was christened on 6 July 2022 and sailed to Texel in August 2022 to start her work on the Wadden Sea.

Find more on the timeline and milestones of the construction
A smiling woman accepts flowers given to her by an older man and a broken champagne bottle in a glass dome presented to her as a gift by a woman on her back.

Baptize of RV Adriaen Coenen at Next Generation Shipyards on 6 July 2022 (Photo: NIOZ)

Name

The new vessel has been named after Adriaen Coenen (1514-1587), a fishmonger from Scheveningen. He was a fish auction master and an amateur ichthyologist with a passion for everything living in the sea. Coenen’s ‘Visboeck’ is a remarkable publication. The 16th-century manuscript is richly decorated with colour illustrations that provide researchers with useful knowledge about 16th-century fisheries.

More on the Visboeck
16th-century illustration of a large black whale washed up on the beach, with people admiring the scene and small sailboats on the water.

Whale on the beach in the Visboeck of Adriaen Coenen (Illustration: KB)