Is this the real life…?

The new Combat Support Ship (CSS) Den Helder has not yet been delivered, but the crew can already get to know her thanks to an extensive Virtual Reality package.

Shipbuilder Damen Naval has delivered a virtual copy of the ship to the Netherlands Materieel & IT Command (COMMIT). It is the first time the company has created a VR version of an entire ship for and with the Royal Netherlands Navy.

The Royal Netherlands Navy naval training institute will use the virtual ship for training sessions for the new crew. This will allow them to find their way on board the CSS even before they see or visit the ship in real life. And the technology can also be used to train maintenance engineers or security.

Damen Naval Project Director Arjan Risseeuw said, “The virtual ship is a copy of the design created in our 3D design software Cadmatic. Everything is in it: the steel, the pipes and cableways, the equipment and all the spaces. So, you can walk through a virtual version of the ship, while the real ship is still being built.”

Originally created to automate parts of the VR construction process and to speed it up, this is the first time Damen Naval has used the inhouse-developed toolchain for such a VR project. Damen Naval’s Technical Specialist VR Björn Mes explained, “By cleverly using the models and metadata from our 3D software, we can save a lot of time. Previously, a colleague spent weeks putting all the pipes and valves in the right place in the VR model. With the new toolchain, most of the CSS engine room pipework is generated in a few minutes and we only need to check it and adjust where necessary.”

The Combat Support Ship Den Helder is gradually coming to life; the diesel generators were tested last month. The ship is expected to go on sea trials in early 2024 and will be delivered to COMMIT later that year to be commissioned in 2025.