Zr.Ms. Holland returns to Den Helder. This was announced today by Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren. That’s about three weeks earlier than expected. The patrol vessel left the naval port of Helderse on November 17 to deliver aid to the population of Gaza. However, she didn’t get that far.
Zr.Ms. Holland, a Holland-class ocean patrol vessel (OPV), in archive image. (Photo: Jaime Karremann/ Marineschips.nl)
At the end of December, the Ministry of Defense informed Marineschips.nl that there was no role for the Netherlands; there was no call to field Holland. It was known that the warship could not provide nearly as much assistance as the larger Dutch ships could, but these were not available when the plan arose. Yet it was painful to note that despite the limited assistance provided by sea, by the French with the Dixmude as a hospital ship and by the English delivering goods via Cyprus to Lyme Bay, the Holland did not figure in the story. For known reasons the ship could not be used in the Red Sea.
While Caribbean had to settle for a station ship since September, Defense continued to make Holland wait in the Mediterranean. Late last week, the Ministry responded to questions from Marineschips.nl that Holland was awaiting a possible deployment.
This did not mean that the ship was constantly anchored off Cyprus. Two weeks ago the ship was in Dubrovnik, Croatia, for a port visit. That port is more than 2,000 kilometers away, about 3 days’ sailing from the Gaza Strip.
The “midterm” was celebrated on board on January 5th; the ship was halfway through its voyage. The ship would then remain in the eastern Mediterranean until mid-February. But they didn’t wait that long.
No station ship for the moment
Now that Holland is returning home, the problems of using the scarce Dutch warships have not yet been resolved. After all, the question is which ship she will leave for the Caribbean. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense informed Marineschips.nl on Friday that “options are still being examined.” In any case, Holland will not immediately sail west. Defense reports today that no station ship will be available for the time being. “From mid-April the West will be able to count on a military ship again,” Defense writes on its website.
This means that Zr.Ms. The Seven Provinces, as already considered, will not go to the Caribbean for the moment. It was previously known that Zr.Ms. Karel Doorman does not go to the Mediterranean to relieve Holland. De Doorman, together with Hr.Ms. Johan de Witt, participating in the important NATO exercise Steadfast Defender.
Defense said it was still investigating which ship will be able to participate in the EU mission in the Red Sea.
Author: Jaime Karremann
Jaime is the founder of Marineschappen.nl and has written more than 1,500 articles on various naval topics. In 2017 he published his non-fiction book Into the Deepest Secret and subsequently the submarine thriller Orka. Before Jaime began working on this site full time, he worked in the Navy for over 12 years, most of which was in a civilian position. Jaime studied communications in Groningen. comments provided by
2024-01-23 19:15:52
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