HNLMS Tydeman (A906)
MV Plancius, formerly HNLMS Tydeman (A906), is a renovated oceanographic research vessel of the Royal Netherlands Navy now employed as a polar expedition cruise vessel by owner and operator Oceanwide Expeditions. She was put into service on 10 November, 1976, and served until 3 June, 2004, before being renovated for commercial use. Thirty percent of her operational time was used by non-military research institutes and universities. At the time, HNLMS Tydeman and the smaller ships HNLMS Buyskes and HNLMS Blommendal, formed the so-called “white fleet” of the Hydrographic Service of the Royal Netherlands Navy.[1] The white fleet was replaced by HNLMS Snellius (A802) in 2003 and HNLMS Luymes (A803) in 2004.[2]
 Plancius in Longyearbyen, 12 July 2013 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Netherlands | |
| Name: | HNLMS Tydeman (A906) |
| Namesake: | Gustaaf Frederik Tydeman |
| Laid down: | 29 April 1975 |
| Launched: | 18 December 1975 |
| In service: | 10 November 1976 |
| Out of service: | 3 June 2004 |
| Identification: | IMO number: 7432044 |
| Fate: | Sold to tour operator Oceanwide Expeditions |
| History | |
| Name: | Plancius |
| Owner: | Oceanwide Expeditions |
| Acquired: | January 2007 |
| Identification: |
|
| Status: | In service |
| General characteristics (as Tydeman) | |
| Tonnage: | 2,900 |
| Displacement: | 3,175 tonnes |
| Length: | 90.2 m (296 ft) |
| Beam: | 14.4 m (47 ft) |
| Draught: | 4.7 m (15 ft) |
| Propulsion: | 3 Diesel-electric units |
| Speed: | 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
| Complement: | maximum 62 plus 15 scientists, Plancius: 45 |
| Sensors and processing systems: | Atlas DESO-10 echo sounder, EDO-Western type 515 deep sea echo sounder, ELAC-Mittellodar wreckage sonar, Geometrics G-801 magnetometer, bottom diggers, radiosondes and barometers |
| Aircraft carried: | Deck for Westland Lynx helicopter, daytime and fair weather use only |
Tydeman was named after Gustaaf Frederik Tydeman, a hydrographer of the Siboga Expedition (1899–1900) in the Dutch East Indies. It was the second vessel to go by this name.
The Tydeman fracture zone (36°N 23°W), between Madeira and the Azores, is named after Tydeman.[3]
Tydeman was originally designed for deep-sea research worldwide, but during her last years in the navy her tasks were limited to hydrographic surveying in the North Sea and Baltic Sea. After retiring from scientific service, Tydeman was sold to the Nigerian Navy. The Nigerians, however, did not succeed in paying her off, and in January of 2007, Oceanwide Expeditions acquired the Tydeman for 900,000 euros.[4]
In 2008, the ship was refurbished at the Reimerswaal shipyard in Hansweert, Netherlands. On 14 November, 2009, Tydeman was renamed Plancius, after Petrus Plancius (1552–1622), a Dutch cartographer. Plancius, sailing the Dutch flag, is used for cruises to the Arctic and Antarctica.
Plancius can accommodate 116 passengers in 53 cabins. She has a total crew of 45 people: 17 nautical crew, 19 hotel staff (six chefs, one hotel manager, one steward-barman, 11 stewards/cabin cleaners), seven expedition guides (one expedition leader and six guide-lecturers), and one doctor.