AMSTERDAM – The Royal Dutch Rescue Society celebrates its 200th anniversary this year, looking back on two centuries in which volunteers and donors banded together to save lives at sea at all hours of the day in the worst weather conditions.
Starting November 11, 2023, an anniversary year began a year full of activities, events and campaigns for volunteers, donors and the general public.
Much has changed in those 200 years. The rescue organization, known by its Dutch acronym of KNRM, has moved from rowing to fast motorboats, from cork lifejackets to special survival suits. What has remained unchanged is the volunteer commitment of KNRM-ers to go out on waterways, lakes and the sea to rescue boaters in trouble.
The Royal Dutch Rescue Society provides various services: Saving Lives at Sea, Lifeguard Services, Rescue Operations, Medical Assistance and Emergency and Non-Emergency Care at sea and on spacious inland waterways.
In this anniversary year, the KNRM reflects on the past, remembers rescuers who gave their lives for others and looks forward. It is a private organization much admired in the Netherlands. It gets no government subsidies but relies on donations from individuals—cash transfers or gifts in wills.
It has more than 120,000 donors and 1,400 volunteer lifesavers. The KNRM’s 2024 National Lifeboat Day on May 25 attracted 33,000 visitors. The organization runs forty five rescue stations across the Netherlands and a fleet of almost eighty lifeboats at stations along the Dutch coast and on inland waterways. The lifeboats range in length from four to nineteen meters.
Each class of lifeboats has specific qualities and capabilities and is built for one purpose: to help and rescue people. The lifeboats are manned by volunteers who are ready to go out around the clock.
At the National Maritime Museum in Amsterdam, the KNRM showed more than thirty modern, historic and international lifeboats on a 250m pontoon. These had sailed in convoy down the North Sea Canal from the North Seda coast to Amsterdam. The museum site alone attracted more than 3,200 visitors.
“It is great to see that so many people came to take a look at our rescue stations today,” said KNRM Director Jacob Tas.
“The involvement and interest of the public give our volunteer rescuers and our work a huge boost. We hope this day inspires people to support us, whether as a volunteer rescuer at sea or as a donor ashore.”
KNRM does its work for free and is funded entirely by donations. More than 120,000 donors make it possible for KNRM to be ready 24/7 for distressed sailors. On National Rescue Boat Day, these ‘Rescuers ashore’ were able to sail on one of KNRM’s rescue boats.
Photos: KNRM
