HNLMS De Ruyter (F804)

HNLMS ''De Ruyter'' () is a of the Royal Netherlands Navy. She was laid down in 2000, launched in 2002, and commissioned in 2004, the third ship of her class to enter service. The frigate is named after Dutch admiral Michiel de Ruyter (1607–1676).

Service history

2005–2015

From 2005 until 2007 ''De Ruyter'' was commanded by Rob Bauer, during which period she was deployed to the Mediterranean as part of Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 as part of the NATO Response Force in Operation Active Endeavour. In late 2006, Bauer was deployed to Bahrain for five months as Deputy Commander of Combined Task Force 150 in Operation Enduring Freedom. From 12 January 2007 to July 2009 ''De Ruyter'' was commanded by Commander Jeanette Morang, the first woman to command a frigate of the Royal Netherlands Navy. Commander Harold Liebregs was ''De Ruyter''s commanding officer from December 2012.

In September and October 2007, satellite television channels in Israel were plagued with signal disruptions, with the north of the country particularly badly affected. Eventually the Ministry of Defense intervened, and with the help of the Israel Defense Forces and Israeli Sea Corps, discovered that the problems had been caused by the radar systems of Dutch UNIFIL ships patrolling off the coast of Lebanon. ''De Ruyter'', anchored off the coast of the Lebanon, allegedly transmitted signals onto frequencies adjacent to those used by the satellite operator.

On 12 January 2012 ''De Ruyter'' sailed from her home port of Den Helder to take up the role of flagship for Standing NATO Maritime Group 1. The group, led by Dutch Commodore Ben Bekkering, was under Dutch command for the remainder of the year, beginning on 23 January when ''De Ruyter'' assumed the flagship role in the Italian port of Taranto. ''De Ruyter'' took part in maritime operations and exercises in the Mediterranean and counterpiracy operations around the Horn of Africa, before being replaced by her sister ship in April.

In early 2013 ''De Ruyter'' deployed with Operation Atalanta, the EU's anti-piracy mission off the Horn of Africa. On 19 February ''De Ruyter'' was tasked to locate a group of suspected pirate skiffs reported by a Panamanian merchant ship. ''De Ruyter'' located two skiffs north east of Eyl, which split up when approached. One was stopped and detained by the ''De Ruyter'', the other was apprehended by the Spanish frigate . Nine suspected pirates were then detained aboard the ''De Ruyter''. The suspected pirates were transferred to authorities in the Seychelles on 25 February for prosecution. On 27 March ''De Ruyter''s NH90 NFH helicopter carried out a series of exercises involving landing on the Spanish patrol vessel , the "first helicopter from another Operation Atalanta unit to land on the Spanish warship".

On 9 April 2013 ''De Ruyter'' hosted Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Defence Minister Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, and the Chief of Defence General Tom Middendorp on an official visit while ''De Ruyter'' was operating off the Somali coast. ''De Ruyter'' served as the flagship for the maritime component of the NATO exercise "Steadfast Jazz 2013", which took place in the Baltic Sea in October and November 2013.

2016–present

In September 2016 she became flagship of Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 in the Aegean Sea, replacing the German frigate in the role. ''De Ruyter'' was in turn replaced in December 2016 by the German frigate .

On 29 January 2016 ''De Ruyter'' assisted two lifeboats of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution with the rescue of the cargo vessel . Following engine failure the stricken ''Verity'' was drifting towards the coastline and had to be taken under tow by the lifeboats to keep it clear of the coast. Shortly after ''De Ruyter'' arrived and took over the tow, the captain maintained the position of the stricken vessel with before it could be towed out to anchor prior to the arrival of a tug. ''De Ruyter'' was then involved in Exercise Formidable Shield off the Scottish coast in 2017. ''De Ruyter'' was tasked with providing data from her Thales Nederland SMART-L long-range air and surface surveillance radar to a US destroyer launching a SM-3 missile against a ballistic missile target.

On 3 July 2018 ''De Ruyter'' once again became the flagship of Standing NATO Maritime Group 2, taking over from the Royal Navy's , with Dutch Commodore Boudewijn G.F.M. Boots succeeding British Commodore Mike Utley. In September 2018 ''De Ruyter'' and Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 took part in the Hellenic Navy's biennial multinational naval Exercise Naias 2018. On 25 October 2018, the frigate was scheduled to take part in the NATO exercise Trident Juncture which was held in and around Norway in 2018.

On 28 January 2020, ''De Ruyter'' left Nieuwe Haven to join the French-Led Task Force, European-led Maritime Awareness in the Strait of Hormuz (EMASOH), in the Persian Gulf. Between 7 and 8 February 2020, the vessel participated in a joint training operation with the Maritime Squadron of the Armed Forces of Malta which involved various scenarios at sea. She was joined by the Maltese patrol vessel '' P62''. The onboard NH90 NFH was joined in the air by the Maltese AW139.

During its mid-life upgrade the ''De Ruyter'' was equipped with a improved Thales SMART-L multi-mission radar that can spot incoming ballistic missiles.

On 12 March 2025, ''De Ruyter'' fired a Tomahawk off the coast of Norfolk, becoming the first Dutch vessel to do so.

File:HNLMS De Ruyter (F804) NATO Gdynia 25 05 07 200.jpg, ''De Ruyter'' in Gdynia
File:HNLMS De Ruyter fires a SM-2.jpg, ''De Ruyter'' fires a SM-2
File:Flight deck Zr.Ms. de Ruyter Feb-2020-1.jpg, Flight deck of ''De Ruyter'' in February 2020

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:De Ruyter (F804)
De Zeven Provinciën-class frigates
Frigates of the Royal Netherlands Navy
2002 ships
Ships built in Vlissingen