History of the KNRM

A short survey of the KNRM’s history and organisation development.

The organisation
After some botched governmental attempts at launching a coastal lifeboat service, disaster helped to get a voluntary organisation off the ground in the Netherlands, in the same year when Sir William Hillary initiated today’s RNLI. A gale that in October 1824 drove the Dutch frigate De Vreede ashore off Den Helder, also sank 16 other vessels with the loss of many hands. De Vreede was special, though, because a private lifeboat capsized, after having rescued 11 of its crew. All but one of the boat’s seven crew and three rescued sailors drowned, which triggered the establishment of two, no less, lifeboat institutions, the Amsterdam based Noord- en Zuid-Hollandsche Redding-Maatschappij (NZHRM) and the Zuid-Hollandsche Maatschappij tot Redding van Schipbreukelingen (ZHMRS) of Rotterdam (respectively the North and the South, for short).

Dutch parochialism
This typically Dutch parochialism seemed an unlikely recipe for a successful lifeboat service. Yet, by dependance on voluntary contributions, volunteer crews and voluntary governors -wealthy merchants and shipowners who paid the bills themselves if necessary- both 'rescue societies' became extremely cost effective organisations. Add sound Dutch avarice, finely tuning premiums to (just) lure dirt poor local boatmen into becoming a lifeboatman. This even became a desirable distinction along the coast; young men vied to join the service and stay with it. From 1864 coxwains were paid a regular salary; with steam and motor lifeboats also mates and mechanics. As technology progressed, the lifeboat institutions needed more professionals.

Merge
In 1991 at last, both institutions merged to become the KNRM - Koninklijke Nederlandse Redding Maatschappij (Royal Netherlands Sea Rescue Institution or KNRM), with enough organisational beef on its bones to run a modern fleet of fast, technologically complicated craft. Combining resources and keeping overhead down have produced an efficient lifeboat service with a modest payroll of 19 technical and 21 office staff at HQ, 10 professional coxwains in the fleet and five part time doctors for the Radio Medical Service. The other 850 crews, 250 local committee members, nine members on the board and eight advisers are all volunteers. The number of contributors has risen beyond 70.000 and a significant number of grants and legacies have enabled the institution to continue its building programme of rigid inflatables. Since 1994 the entire service has been run from the modern headquarters at IJmuiden, with storehouses and workshops for servicing the fleet.