HNLMS ''Amsterdam'' was the last

replenishment oiler 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. Th ...

serving with the

Royal Netherlands Navy The Royal Netherlands Navy (, ) is the Navy, maritime service branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. It traces its history to 8 January 1488, making it the List of navies, third-oldest navy in the world. During the 17th and early 18th centurie ...

. ''Amsterdam'' entered service on 2 September 1995 and replaced . On 4 December 2014 it was decommissioned and sold to the

Peruvian Navy The Peruvian Navy (, abbreviated MGP) is the branch of the Peruvian Military of Peru, Armed Forces tasked with surveillance, patrol and defense on lakes, rivers and the Pacific Ocean up to from the Peruvian littoral. Additional missions include ...

where it was renamed BAP ''Tacna''.

Design and description

''Amsterdam'' is a

that was designed to replace the ageing . The result of a joint effort between the Nevesbu and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

E.N. Bazàn (later IZAR, then

Navantia Navantia is a Spanish state-owned shipbuilding enterprise dedicated to civil and military naval construction, the design of deep-tech systems and the manufacture of structures for the renewable energy sector, such as offshore wind or hydrogen. ...

) design bureaus, the vessel was one of three ordered; two by the Netherlands and one () by Spain to a modified design. The second vessel planned by the Netherlands was cancelled. ''Amsterdam'' measures long and at the

waterline The waterline is the line where the hull of a ship meets the surface of the water. A waterline can also refer to any line on a ship's hull that is parallel to the water's surface when the ship is afloat in a level trimmed position. Hence, wate ...

with a maximum

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Radio beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially lo ...

of and at the waterline and a draught of . The ship has a

displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and physics *Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...

of fully loaded. ''Amsterdam'' was constructed to merchant ship standards with military nuclear, biological and chemical damage control. ''Amsterdam'' is propelled by a single five-bladed -diameter LIPS controllable pitch propeller powered by two IZAR/

Burmeister & Wain Burmeister & Wain was a large established Danish shipyard and leading diesel engine producer headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded by two Danes and an Englishman, its earliest roots stretch back to 1846. Over its 150-year history, it g ...

V16V 40/45

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

s creating . This gives the ship a maximum speed of with a sustained speed of . The vessel has a range of at 20 knots and can stay at sea for 30 days. ''Amsterdam'' is equipped with four IZAR/Burmeister & Wain generators for power generation. The ship has a complement of 23 officers and 137 enlisted with an additional 70 spare berths. The aviation complement of 24 is included in the overall number. The vessel was designed with up to 20% of its crew be female. The ship was initially armed with two Oerlikon cannon and one Signaal Goalkeeper

close-in weapon system A close-in weapon system (CIWS ) is a point-defense weapon system for detecting and destroying short-range incoming missiles and enemy aircraft which have penetrated the outer defenses, typically mounted on a naval ship. Nearly all classes of l ...

(CIWS). The 20 mm cannon were later removed and replaced six single-mounted

Browning M2 The M2 machine gun or Browning .50-caliber machine gun (informally, "Ma Deuce") is a heavy machine gun that was designed near the end of World War I by John Browning. While similar to Browning's M1919 Browning machine gun, which was chamber ...

and two MAG 7.62mm machine guns. ''Amsterdam'' also mounts four

Mark 36 SRBOC The BAE Systems Mark 36 Super Rapid Bloom Offboard Countermeasures Chaff and Decoy Launching System (abbreviated as SRBOC or "Super-arboc") is an American short-range decoy launching system (DLS) that launches radar or infrared decoys from naval v ...

chaff Chaff (; ) is dry, scale-like plant material such as the protective seed casings of cereal grains, the scale-like parts of flowers, or finely chopped straw. Chaff cannot be digested by humans, but it may be fed to livestock, ploughed into soil ...

decoy launchers and a Nixie towed

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...

decoy system. The replenishment oiler mounts Ferranti AWARE-4 ESM radar warning and two

Kelvin Hughes Hensoldt UK, formerly Kelvin Hughes, is a British company specialising in the design and manufacture of navigation and surveillance systems and a supplier of navigational data to both the commercial marine and government marketplace. The company ...

surface search and helicopter control

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

s. The ship was capable of operating three

Westland Lynx The Westland Lynx is a British multi-purpose twin-engined military helicopter designed and built by Westland Helicopters at its factory in Yeovil. Originally intended as a utility craft for both civil and naval usage, military interest led to t ...

or two

AgustaWestland AW101 The AgustaWestland AW101 is a medium-lift helicopter in military and civil use. First flown in 1987, it was developed by a joint venture between Westland Helicopters in the United Kingdom and Agusta in Italy in response to national requiremen ...

Westland Sea King The Westland WS-61 Sea King is a British licence-built version of the American Sikorsky S-61 helicopter of the same name, built by Westland Helicopters. The aircraft differs considerably from the American version, with Rolls-Royce Gnome eng ...

NHIndustries NH90 The NHIndustries NH90 is a European medium-sized, twin-engine, multirole military helicopter. It was the first production helicopter to feature entirely fly-by-wire flight controls.Perry, Dominic"Rotor club: Our top 10 most influential helicop ...

helicopters from its

flight deck The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is the surface on which its aircraft take off and land, essentially a miniature airfield at sea. On smaller naval ships which do not have aviation as a primary mission, the landing area for helicopters ...

in Dutch service. The replenishment oiler is capacity for . The vessel's typical cargo inventory consisted of of

diesel fuel Diesel fuel, also called diesel oil, heavy oil (historically) or simply diesel, is any liquid fuel specifically designed for use in a diesel engine, a type of internal combustion engine in which fuel ignition takes place without a spark as a re ...

, of

aviation fuel Aviation fuels are either petroleum-based or blends of petroleum and synthetic fuels, used to power aircraft. They have more stringent requirements than fuels used for ground applications, such as heating and road transport, and they contain add ...

, of fresh water, of ammunition, of

sonobuoy A sonobuoy (a portmanteau of sonar and buoy) is a small expendable sonar buoy dropped from aircraft or ships for anti-submarine warfare or underwater acoustic research. Sonobuoys are typically around in diameter and long. When floating on t ...

s, of provisions and of spare parts. The ship also contained repair shops to aid the fleet. ''Amsterdam'' has four 2-ton dual-purpose and two 250-kilogram solid stores alongside replenishment stations on each side of the ship and a

vertical replenishment Vertical replenishment, or VERTREP, is a method of supply of seaborne vessels by helicopter. The United States Department of Defense defines VERTREP as: ...the transfer of cargo between ships using helicopters. VERTREP is often used to supplemen ...

station forward. The vessel has a fuel transfer rate of per hour on its port side stations, per hour on its starboard stations and per hour astern. ''Amsterdam'' is also capable of transferring per hour of aviation fuel on either side.

Service history

Dutch service

The ship was ordered in October 1991 as a replacement for the ageing HNLMS ''Poolster''. The

hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...

was constructed by B.Y. Merwede in Hardinxveld, the Netherlands, with the

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...

being

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...

on 25 May 1992 and launched on 11 September 1993. The hull was taken to the

Royal Schelde 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 ...

shipyard in

Vlissingen Vlissingen (; ) is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands on the island of Walcheren. With its strategic location between the Scheldt river and the North Sea, Vlissingen has been an importan ...

to be completed and began

sea trial A sea trial or trial trip is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a "shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on op ...

s on 3 April 1995. The vessel was accepted by the

on 10 July 1995 and ''Amsterdam'' was commissioned on 2 September 1995. In early 1996, the ship sailed to the

Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...

for tests on operations in cold climates, later in the year operating of the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...

with other Dutch warships. In 1997, the ship sailed to

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

and

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

for defence expositions. In 1998, ''Amsterdam'' was one of the Dutch warships that participated in one of the largest

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

military exercise A military exercise, training exercise, maneuver (manoeuvre), or war game is the employment of military resources in Military education and training, training for military operations. Military exercises are conducted to explore the effects of ...

s to that date off Spain. In 2000, the ship sailed with a Dutch squadron, visiting several Asian countries. In August, the ship performed its 1,000 replenishment at sea. In November 2001, ''Amsterdam'' was assigned to NATO's

Standing Naval Force Atlantic Standing NATO Maritime Group One (SNMG1) is one of NATO's standing naval maritime immediate reaction forces. SNMG1 consists of four to six destroyers and frigates. Its role is to provide NATO with an immediate operational response capability. H ...

(STANAVFORLANT). In December, ''Amsterdam'' and the

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

transferred to the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

as part of Standing Naval Force Mediterranean to take part in NATO's

Operation Active Endeavour Operation Active Endeavour was a Navy, maritime operation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It operated in the Mediterranean Sea and was designed to prevent the movement of terrorists or weapons of mass destruction. It had collateral ben ...

, patrolling the eastern Mediterranean. On 2 January 2002, the ship recovered 20 refugees from Mediterranean waters after being taken off their ship in heavy weather. The vessel returned to the Netherlands in late January. From April to June, ''Amsterdam'' was in the Mediterranean again as part of Active Endeavour. In 2003, the replenishment oiler took part in the military exercise Northern Light off the coast of

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and joined STANAVFORLANT for naval exercises in 2004. This was followed by a deployment to Curacao in the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba ...

to take over station duties until 2005, when the ship returned to European waters. ''Amsterdam'' deployed to the Middle East as part of

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used by the U.S. government for both the first stage (2001–2014) of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response ...

during 2005/2006 and provided assistance to two US naval vessels after a battle they had fought with pirates on 18 March 2006. In 2008, the vessel was part of a

UNIFIL The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (; ), or UNIFIL (; ) is a United Nations peacekeeping mission established on 19 March 1978 by United Nations Security Council Resolutions 425 and 426, and several further resolutions in 2006 to con ...

mission to Lebanon. The vessel then returned to Caribbean waters, operating with British, French, Canadian and American forces in the region. From September 2010 to January 2011, ''Amsterdam'' was assigned to

Operation Atalanta Operation Atalanta, formally European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia, is an ongoing counter-piracy military operation at sea off the Horn of Africa and in the Western Indian Ocean, that is the first naval operation conducted by the ...

and Operation Shield off the coast of Somalia. The ship was assigned in December 2010 to the coast of

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest city and ...

in order to assist in a possible evacuation of

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

citizens from the country in the wake of unrest after the 2010 presidential election. In 2012–2013, ''Amsterdam'' was assigned to the Dutch Caribbean force, intercepting drug smugglers, before returning to the Mediterranean in mid-2014. The ship was sold to Peru in July 2014. ''Amsterdam'' was decommissioned on 4 December 2014 and transferred to the

Peruvian service

''Amsterdam'' was acquired by the Peruvian Navy in July 2014. It was delivered to the navy on 4 December 2014 and commissioned as ''Tacna'', for the border city

Tacna Tacna, officially known as San Pedro de Tacna, is a city in southern Peru and the regional capital of the Tacna Region. A very commercially active city, it is located only north of the border with Arica y Parinacota Region from Chile, inland f ...

, with the number ARL 158. The vessel was part of the revamp of the navy.

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* * *

External links

Hr.Ms. ''Amsterdam'', Royal Netherlands Navy website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amsterdam Auxiliary ships of the Royal Netherlands Navy 1992 ships Auxiliary replenishment ship classes Ships built in Vlissingen