HNLMS ''Karel Doorman'' ( nl, Zr.Ms. Karel Doorman) is a multi-function support ship for amphibious operations 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 ...

, which is also used by the German Navy. The ship replaced both of the navy's

replenishment oilers A replenishment oiler or replenishment tanker is a naval auxiliary ship with fuel tanks and dry cargo holds which can supply both fuel and dry stores during underway replenishment (UNREP) at sea. Many countries have used replenishment oilers. The ...

: HNLMS ''Zuiderkruis'' (scrapped in February 2014) and HNLMS ''Amsterdam'' (sold to Peru in December 2014). At she is the largest ship in service in the Netherlands navy. She was built at the Damen yard 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 ...

, Romania, being the largest warship ever built in Romania. On 16 August 2013 the ship arrived in Vlissingen, the Netherlands, where final outfitting and installation of the weapon systems took place. In September, 2013, it was announced that as part of a series of Dutch defense budget cuts, the vessel wouldn't enter military service, but this decision was reversed by the Dutch government. The vessel cost 400 million Euros. On 4 February 2016, German minister Ursula von der Leyen, and Dutch minister Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert signed the LOI on the Dutch Navy ship HNLMS Karel Doorman. The German Navy will now, in coordination with their Dutch counterparts, be able to use the biggest ship in the Dutch Navy.

Characteristics

JLSS Karel Doorman Starboard side construction

For maritime support the ship will have two Replenishment-At-Sea masts, the holding capacity of approx 8000 m³ of fuel, more than 1000 m³ of helicopter fuel, approx 450 m³ of potable water and approx 400 tonnes of ammunition and other supplies. The JLSS has 2,000 lane metres for transport of material such as tracked & wheeled vehicles or containers. She has an elevator and crane for up to 40 tons, a roll on/roll off facility for vehicles, and a steel beach stern construction for accommodating cargo transfer via landing craft. The ship is equipped with two LCVP's

landing craft Landing craft are small and medium seagoing watercraft, such as boats and barges, used to convey a landing force (infantry and vehicles) from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. The term excludes landing ships, which are larger. Pr ...

. For sea-basing operations she will have large helicopter deck with landing spots for operating two Chinooks simultaneously, and a hangar with a storage capacity of up to 6 medium-sized helicopters, including NH-90, AS-532 Cougar, CH-47F and AH-64D Apache. The ship can accommodate up to 300 personnel, of which 159 are the ship's crew. She also has command rooms for war staffs and a large hospital facility with 20 treatment areas, and two surgery rooms. Modular flexibility allows configuration of temporary areas for evacuees or prisoners. Positioned off shore, the ship is designed to act as a Sea Based Operations Platform supporting (amphibious) land forces with logistic support providing supplies and helicopter support (transport and attack).

Armament

The armament of the JLSS is heavier than that of the LPDs and replenishment ships, but is still primarily for self-defence. In high-risk operations the ship will require additional protection from

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

s or

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

s. Two Goalkeeper CIWS systems protect the ship against incoming missiles and aircraft at short range, while two

Oto Melara OTO Melara was a subsidiary of the Italian company Finmeccanica, today Leonardo, active in the defence sector, with factories in Brescia and La Spezia. The Mod 56 pack howitzer, in service throughout the world, and the 76mm naval gun, ado ...

Marlin WS 30mm rapid cannons provide force-protection against small surface targets such as high speed boats. The ship is also equipped with 4

Hitrole NT 12.7mm guns. The same weaponry has been chosen for the s. All weapon systems of the JLSS are remote-controlled from the operations and command room.

Sensor suite

''Karel Doorman'' has the same sensor suite as the s. All sensor systems are housed in an integrated mast, provided by

Thales Nederland Thales Nederland B.V. (formerly Hollandse Signaalapparaten B.V. or in short Signaal) is a subsidiary of the French multinational company Thales Group based in the Netherlands. The firm was founded as ''NV Hazemeyer's Fabriek van Signaalapparaten ...

, called the I-Mast 400, comprising a SeaMaster 400 SMILE air warning radar, a SeaWatcher 100 active phased-array surface detection and tracking radar and the GateKeeper infra-red/electro-optical (EO) warning system. With these systems the ship is able to monitor 140 nm using an Integrated Sensor and Communication Systems (ISCS), also by

Service history

Even though ''Karel Doorman'' had just finished sea trials and had not yet been commissioned, on 6 November she was sent on a three-month deployment to West Africa to deliver aid to

Ebola Ebola, also known as Ebola virus disease (EVD) and Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF), is a viral hemorrhagic fever in humans and other primates, caused by ebolaviruses. Symptoms typically start anywhere between two days and three weeks after becom ...

-struck countries. She was loaded with different goods in 91 containers and 155 vehicles, including ambulances. On 18 November the ship arrived in Freetown, Sierra Leone for her first offload. After her third offload in

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

and the replenishment of RFA ''Argus'' the ship returned to the Netherlands to pick up another load. On 24 April 2015 JLSS ''Karel Doorman'' was formally commissioned and hence forward HNLMS ''Karel Doorman'', pennant A833. Seen on 25 May on the St. Lawrence River, in front of Baie-St-Paul (QC), Canada, navigating upstream. She also stopped at Montreal's Old Port on 26 May 2015. At 10am on June 17, 2015, she docked at Phillipsburg in St. Maarten. On 19 June 2015 at 12pm, she docked at Oranjestad in Aruba. On February 3, 2016, ''Karel Doorman'' docked at Amsterdam in the Netherlands. In February it was decided that the Dutch navy would incidentally share the use of the ''Karel Doorman'' with the German Navy. In the autumn of 2017 ''Karel Doorman'' was sent to the Caribbean for humanitarian aid after the region was struck by Hurricane Irma. ''Karel Doorman'' participated in the NATO exercise ''Trident Juncture'' in 2018.

Mid-Life Upgrade

The ''Karel Doorman'' is planned to undergoing progressive updates to extend its service life from 2025 onwards. Major changes that are expected include the replacement of the Goalkeeper CIWS with RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile and 76mm Sovraponte gun from Leonardo OTO.

References