Cerberus-class diving support vessel

The Cerberus class are four diving support vessels in service with the Royal Netherlands Navy. Built by Scheepswerf Visser at Den Helder, their mission is to help the explosive ordnance disposal unit with bomb disposal and to serve as a platform to train new navy divers.

Construction and career


Two of the ships have undergone modifications since being commissioned. In 1997 Hydra received a 10.5 m extension in the mid-section and a new bow thruster among other things. The lengthening gave here a new displacement of 340 t. Nautilus followed with the same modifications in 2008. As a result, these two ships can carry an additional 2 crew and 22 passengers.

All ships are set to be replaced along with the HNLMS Mercuur (A900), HNLMS Pelikaan (A804), Snellius-class hydrographic survey vessel, HNLMS Soemba (M850) and the Van Kinsbergen by a common family of ships. The builder of the new ships will be selected in 2024.