Netherlands Coastguard helicopter contract to Bristow

The Dutch Defence Material Organisation (DMO) has awarded a contract to Bristow to provide Search and Rescue (SAR) helicopter capacity to the Netherlands Coastguard. Organizational control of the Coastguard is the responsibility of the Dutch Ministry of Defence.

The contract has been awarded last November and will commence in November 2022 for a period of ten years. It involves the permanently available capacity of dedicated Leonardo AW189 helicopters operating from two bases in the Netherlands. Bristow will provide 24/7 SAR capacity to the Netherlands Coastguard, which will be tasked by the Coastguard Joint Rescue and Coordination Centre (JRCC) in Den Helder. Apart from SAR, the helicopters will used for medical evacuation and to transport disaster response teams and their equipment to incidents involving ships, rigs or wind turbines at sea.

Two AW189 helicopters will be on 20 minute alert, operating from Den Helder airport (De Kooy) and Midden-Zeeland airport. The crew of the helicopters will consist of two pilots, a nurse, a swimmer and a hoist operator. Besides the crew, the helicopters have a capacity of carrying 19 persons.

Currently, the Netherlands Coastguard uses two (yellow) AS365N3 Dauphin helicopters in the SAR-role, operating from Den Helder airport and Pistoolhaven heliport (Rotterdam), under a contract with NHV Group that will expire in 2022.