On August 11, Dutch supply ship HNLMS Amsterdam, equipped with an on-board NH90 helicopter, set sail for the Caribbean from the port of Den Helder.
In the next 4 months, HNLMS Amsterdam will serve as a guard ship and be deployed to intercept drug transports and support the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard. The ship will also provide humanitarian assistance in the event of a hurricane.
HNLMS Amsterdam is expected to arrive in Willemstad, Curaçao, on 26 August where it will relieve HNLMS Holland. In the past 4 months, patrol vessel HNLMS Holland intercepted several drug transports in the Caribbean waters, including the seizure of 1,000 kilos of cocaine at the beginning of June.
[mappress] Press Release, August 14, 2013; Image: Dutch MoD