The public outcry that followed led to reforms, including an improved system of observing, reporting and assisting ships in distress off the coast, with better cooperation between lighthouses and government agencies.

[7] After World War II the area that could be covered off-coast became larger with new technologies such as radar and better means of communication.

At the same time, government desire to protect Dutch interests in the North Sea, such as fishery, and extraction of oil, gas, sand and gravel, led to each ministry establishing its own department with, at one point, over twenty government organisations at work off the Dutch coast.

To stop this fragmentation, in 1984 Minister Smit-Kroes of Traffic and water management ordered a review to examine how to make guarding the coast of the Netherlands more efficient and effective.

In 1995 the Coast Guard was assigned to the Ministry of Defense and on 23 November 2001 the headquarters moved to the national Navy HQ in Den Helder.