One of the two main engines of the Dutch Navy’s largest ship, HNLMS Karel Doorman, was seriously damaged and needs to be replaced.
According to the country’s defense ministry, this operation, due to its complexity, will take around 8 months to be completed.
The damage occurred March 10 while the amphibious operation support ship was at sea. Karel Doorman returned to the Den Helder port upon noticing the problem.
Further research is being undertaken so as to determine how the engine was damaged. The department of defense said it would seek to recover damages through the guarantee that was set out in the contract with the Dutch shipbuilder Damen.
Naval Today previously reported that HNLMS Karel Doorman started the German-Dutch cooperation where German Navy personnel will train aboard the Dutch ship and use it for amphibious operations.
The ship entered Warnemünde, Germany on March 13, 2016 and was set to return to the Netherlands on March 17 which would mean the ship was visiting Germany with a broken engine.