Royal Netherlands Lifeboat Institution (KNRM)

The Royal Netherlands Lifeboat Institution (Koninklijke Nedelandse Redding-Maatschappij-KNRM) is a premium lifeboat service which was founded in 1824. It along with the British RNLI has been a leader in the international lifeboat scene and has been responsible for many of today's innovations in lifeboat design and operations. It is most noted for its design and construction of large, all-weather, sea-going RIBS such as the "Arie Visser" class. The KNRM currently operates 38 lifeboat stations and plans to open another six in the next few years. It operates sixty lifeboats, 16 of which are all-weather. Of these stations, ten have full time paid coxswains, the rest of the crews are all volunteer. The KNRM also operates a Radio Medical Service staffed by five physicians who provide full-time medical advice by radio and INMARSAT.

The KNRM also plays a major role in our Caribbean Initiative through its assistance to the volunteer rescue services in the Netherlands Antilles and other Dutch islands.