Koninklijke Nederlandse Redding Maatschappij
Encyclopedia
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
: Koninklijk
Koninklijk
Koninklijk or Koninklijke is an honorary title given to certain companies and non-profit organizations in Belgium and the Netherlands, by the King or Queen in the respective country. It was first introduced by Louis Bonaparte in 1807, the King of the Netherlands at that time, who awarded the title...
e Nederlandse Redding Maatschappij, abbreviated: KNRM) is the voluntary organization in the Netherlands tasked with saving lives at sea. For that purpose, it maintains 39 lifeboat
Lifeboat (rescue)
A rescue lifeboat is a boat rescue craft which is used to attend a vessel in distress, or its survivors, to rescue crewmen and passengers. It can be hand pulled, sail powered or powered by an engine...
stations along the Dutch coast of the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
and Wadden Sea
Wadden Sea
The Wadden Sea is an intertidal zone in the southeastern part of the North Sea. It lies between the coast of northwestern continental Europe and the range of Frisian Islands, forming a shallow body of water with tidal flats and wetlands. It is rich in biological diversity...
and on the IJsselmeer
IJsselmeer
IJsselmeer is a shallow artificial lake of 1100 km² in the central Netherlands bordering the provinces of Flevoland, North Holland and Friesland, with an average depth of 5 to 6 m. The IJsselmeer is the largest lake in Western Europe....
. Its headquarters have been in IJmuiden since 1996.
The KNRM was created May 22, 1991 by merging the Koninklijke Noord- en Zuid-Hollandsche Redding-Maatschappij (founded November 11, 1824), called the Noord (North), and the Koninklijke Zuid-Hollandsche Maatschappij tot Redding van Schipbreukelingen (founded November 20, 1824), called the Zuid (South). Between 1824 and 2006, they answered 36358 distress calls and saved 79887 people out of distress situations.
Yearly they have about 1700 distress calls with about 3500 people saved (2008).
The KNRM also operates the Dutch Radio Medical Service (a task taken over from the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
Red Cross on January 1, 1999) and provides medical advice by radio to about 900 ships each year.
Like the comparable Royal National Lifeboat Institution
Royal National Lifeboat Institution
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution is a charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of Great Britain, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, as well as on selected inland waterways....
, which operates in the UK and Republic of Ireland, and German Deutsche Gesellschaft zur Rettung Schiffbrüchiger
Deutsche Gesellschaft zur Rettung Schiffbrüchiger
The Deutsche Gesellschaft zur Rettung Schiffbrüchiger or DGzRS is responsible for Search and Rescue in German territorial waters in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, including the Exclusive Economic Zone.The headquarters and...
, the KNRM is entirely financed by private donations.
See also
Similar organizations in other European countries- Royal National Lifeboat InstitutionRoyal National Lifeboat InstitutionThe Royal National Lifeboat Institution is a charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of Great Britain, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, as well as on selected inland waterways....
(United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland) - Société Nationale de Sauvetage en MerSociété Nationale de Sauvetage en MerThe Société Nationale de Sauvetage en Mer is a French voluntary organisation founded in 1967 by merging the Société Centrale de Sauvetage des Naufragés and the Hospitaliers Sauveteurs Bretons...
(France) - Deutsche Gesellschaft zur Rettung SchiffbrüchigerDeutsche Gesellschaft zur Rettung SchiffbrüchigerThe Deutsche Gesellschaft zur Rettung Schiffbrüchiger or DGzRS is responsible for Search and Rescue in German territorial waters in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, including the Exclusive Economic Zone.The headquarters and...
(Germany) - Norsk Selskab til Skibbrudnes RedningNorsk Selskab til Skibbrudnes RedningThe Norwegian Society for Sea Rescue was founded on 9 July 1891...
(Norway, also called Redningsselskapet)
Famous lifeboat-saviors
- Henry FreemanHenry Freeman (1835-1904)Henry Freeman was a Whitby fisherman and lifeboatman.Born in Bridlington, Yorkshire, Henry worked in his youth as a brickmaker. He was successful at his work rising to the position of manager. With the decline of the brick trade Henry turned to the sea and fishing.He moved to Whitby and became a...
- Dorus Rijkers
- Grace DarlingGrace DarlingGrace Horsley Darling was an English Victorian heroine who in 1838, along with her father, saved 13 people from the wreck of the SS Forfarshire.-Biography:...
- Henry BloggHenry BloggHenry George Blogg GC BEM was a famous lifeboatman from Cromer on the north coast of Norfolk, England.Henry Blogg of Cromer is referred to as "the greatest of the lifeboatmen"...