Dutch amphibious ship heads for African counter-piracy mission with Swedish CB-90s on board

A Dutch Navy landing platform dock ship has embarked Swedish CB-90 fast assault craft for a deployment to the African counter-piracy operation Atalanta.

HNLMS Rotterdam set sail from her homeport on Sunday heading for Somalia with two CB-90 boats and a Swedish boarding team.

The boats were earlier transported to the Netherlands by the Swedish submarine rescue ship HSwMS Belos.

During her time off the coast of Africa, HNLMS Rotterdam will serve as the flagship of the EU-led counter-piracy mission.

This is not the first time Dutch and Swedish naval units are cooperating under operation Atalanta.

Back in 2015, another Dutch landing platform dock – HNLMS Johan de Witt worked with two Swedish fast assault craft. That was the first time that the CB-90 deployed as part of Operation Atalanta.

Launched in 1999, the Rotterdam was the first of the Damen Enforcer class, an amphibious warfare vessel based around a single lane submersible dock that provides a sheltered environment for the deployment of landing craft.