HNLMS ''Holland'' is the first ship of the s of 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 ship was originally designed to fulfill patrol and intervention tasks against lightly armed opponents, such as

pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

and smugglers. However, it also has very advanced electronic and radar surveillance capabilities which are used for military stabilization and security roles, short of outright war. Without

sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigation, navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect o ...

or long range weapons, it utilizes the surveillance capabilities of the Thales integrated mast, which integrates communication systems and two 4-faced phased arrays for air and surface search.

Service history

''Holland'' was the first ship of the ''Holland''-class offshore patrol vessels to enter service. The ship fulfilled its first task before it had actually entered service when on 15 March 2012 it returned a mirror that had been taken from after the Raid on the Medway. In 2013 ''Holland'' successfully intercepted two illegal drug transports in the Dutch Caribbean. One of the cargoholds contained more than of

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...

. During the

Nuclear Security Summit The Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) is a world summit, aimed at preventing nuclear terrorism around the globe. The first summit was held in Washington, D.C., United States, on April 12–13, 2010. The second summit was held in Seoul, South Korea, i ...

in 2014, ''Holland'' and secured the coastal areas between

IJmuiden IJ_(digraph).html" ;"title="n IJ (digraph)">n IJ (digraph) and that should remain the only places where they are used. > IJmuiden () is a port city in the Netherlands, Dutch province of North Holland. It is the main town in the municipality ...

and Hook of Holland. On 10 October 2016, ''Holland'' was deployed around

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

, to help after the impact of Hurricane Mathew. In July 2018, the crew of HNLMS ''Holland'' ended a three-month drug patrol in the Dutch Caribbean with a visit to New York. While in the Caribbean Sea, ''Holland'' also performed coast guard duties. ''Holland''s sister ship ''Friesland'' replaced the vessel in the Caribbean. In August 2021, ''Holland'' was deployed to Haiti once more to support an

EU Civil Protection Mechanism The Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO), formerly known as the European Community Humanitarian Aid Office, is the European Commission's department for overseas humanitarian aid and for civil ...

mission in response to the

2021 Haiti earthquake At 08:29:09 EDT on 14 August 2021, a magnitude7.2 earthquake struck the Tiburon Peninsula in the Caribbean nation of Haiti. It had a 10-kilometre-deep (6.2 mi) hypocenter near Petit-Trou-de-Nippes, approximately 150 kilometres (93 m ...

and subsequent

Tropical depression A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

, providing intelligence-gathering, safety, helicopter, and security support including an armed team. Royal Family Caribbean trip 02

In February 2023 the ''Holland'' was used to ferry King

Willem-Alexander Willem-Alexander (; Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand; born ) is King of the Netherlands, having acceded to the throne following his mother's abdication in 2013. Willem-Alexander was born in Utrecht as the oldest child of Princess Beatri ...

, Queen Maxima and Princess of Orange

Catharina-Amalia Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange (Catharina-Amalia Beatrix Carmen Victoria; born 7 December 2003) is the heir apparent to the throne of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the constituent countries of Aruba, Curaçao, the N ...

from

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 ...

Curaçao Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coast ...

during a

state visit A state visit is a formal visit by a head of state to a foreign country, at the invitation of the head of state of that foreign country, with the latter also acting as the official host for the duration of the state visit. Speaking for the host ...

to the Dutch Caribbean. During the transfer the Royal Family also went for a ride onboard one of the ''Hollands'' FRISCS.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holland (P840) Holland-class offshore patrol vessels 2010 ships Patrol vessels of the Royal Netherlands Navy Ships built in Vlissingen

Service history

See also

References