The supply ship HNLMS Amsterdam has been designated as the new guard ship of the Royal Netherlands Navy in the Caribbean, where it will be deployed in counternarcotics operations and coastguard tasks.
The ship sailed from the port of Den Helder in mid-February and is scheduled to perform its temporary tasks from the beginning of March.
Before crossing the Atlantic to the Caribbean, the supply ship had to undergo trials in Plymouth in the UK, the so-called Disaster Exercise. The crew was thus prepared for giving emergency assistance in the event of flooding and damage on the Caribbean islands due to hurricanes.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff , March 01, 2012; Image: defensie