HNLMS ''Groningen'' is a operated by the

Royal Netherlands Navy The Royal Netherlands Navy ( nl, Koninklijke Marine, links=no) is the naval force of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. During the 17th century, the navy of the Dutch Republic (1581–1795) was one of the most powerful naval forces in the world an ...

. The vessel was built in the Romanian shipyards in

Galati Galati may refer to: * Galati Mamertino, municipality in the Metropolitan City of Messina in Sicily, Italy * Galați County, in Moldavia region of Romania * Galati (surname) Galati is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Frank Gal ...

, by the Dutch firm

Damen Group The Damen Group is a Dutch defence, shipbuilding, and engineering conglomerate company based in Gorinchem, Netherlands. Though it is a major international group doing business in 120 countries, it remains a private family-owned company. Dame ...

Integrated mast module

The integrated mast module (IMM) has been built to an innovative concept. The mast houses all systems which form the "eyes and ears" of the ship. The ship can efficiently detect pirate and smuggling boats while keeping an eye on the skies as well. For the first time camera, radar and communications antenna systems are merged into one mast structure. This allows the ship to see flying and floating objects. The means of communication in the mast making it possible to carry out worldwide operations in conjunction with aircraft and ships.

Service history

2012

In late 2012 ''Groningen'' was exercising with HNLMS ''Friesland'' when sank after a collision with another ship. Both

Holland-class offshore patrol vessel The ''Holland''-class ocean-going patrol vessels are a class of four ocean-going patrol vessels constructed for the Royal Netherlands Navy. They are designed to fulfill patrol and intervention tasks against lightly armed opponents, such as pira ...

s assisted in the search for survivors.

2014

On 28 April, ''Groningen'' departed

Den Helder Den Helder () is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Den Helder occupies the northernmost point of the North Holland peninsula. It is home to the country's main naval base. From here the Royal TESO fe ...

for deployment to the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

on counter-drug operations and coast guard duties. On her way to the

she completed multiple exercises with six other European navies (MAOC-N). In early June ''Groningen'' received an overnight notification from the

US Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, multi ...

. A patrol plane saw a boat, a so-called go-fast, heading north at high speed. A US helicopter on board the ship took off immediately. ''Groningen'' itself headed to the specified location off the coast of

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

. When the smugglers heard the helicopter, they jettisoned their cargo. ''Groningen'' arrived moments later. The crew managed to retrieve multiple packages of drugs from the water. They recovered about half of the estimated . The three smugglers were arrested and transferred to the Coast Guard. She returned home to

Vlissingen Vlissingen (; zea, label=Zeelandic, Vlissienge), historically known in English as Flushing, is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands on the former island of Walcheren. With its strategic l ...

on 5 September for a short maintenance period. On 29 December two Russian navy vessels, the destroyer ''Vice-Admiral Kulakov'' and a tug from the sailed along the Dutch coast being escorted by ''Groningen''.

2015

On 9 August ''Groningen'' departed

for a four-month deployment off the coast of

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

, as part of the EU anti-piracy mission Atalanta. On 11 December she sailed back into her homeport.

2016

In 2016 ''Groningen'' was deployed to the

on counter-drug operations and coast guard duties.

2018

In December 2018, the Royal Netherlands Navy (RNLN) was reported to be planning to trial a new crewing concept for its Holland-class offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) and selected ''Groningen'' for this two-year long pilot project. The main purpose of the project is to provide clarity for crews to know when they are deployed and when they are back home.

2020

On 19 July, the ships

NH90 The NHIndustries NH90 is a medium-sized, twin-engine, multi-role military helicopter. It was developed in response to NATO requirements for a battlefield helicopter which would also be capable of being operated in naval environments. The NH90 ...

helicopter crashed off the coast of

Aruba Aruba ( , , ), officially the Country of Aruba ( nl, Land Aruba; pap, Pais Aruba) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands physically located in the mid-south of the Caribbean Sea, about north of the Venezuela peninsula of ...

, killing two crew members and injuring two passengers. The Dutch Ministry of Defence launched an investigation, grounding all of the country's NH90s until more is known.

2023

In 2023 HNLMS ''Groningen'' was fitted with a Hull Vane, which led to a 16% fuel reduction at 17.5

knots A knot is a fastening in rope or interwoven lines. Knot may also refer to: Places * Knot, Nancowry, a village in India Archaeology * Knot of Isis (tyet), symbol of welfare/life. * Minoan snake goddess figurines#Sacral knot Arts, entertainme ...

and 10% across the full usage profile.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Groningen (P843) Holland-class offshore patrol vessels 2011 ships Ships built in Romania Patrol vessels of the Royal Netherlands Navy Ships built by Damen Shipyards Galați