The Thursday Documentary - No Deck To Strut Upon

Warship Delivered to Moroccan Navy by Dutch Shipyard

SIGMA Class Frigate, 'Allal Ben Abdellah', built by Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding (DSNS) in Vlissingen, transferred to the Royal Moroccan Navy.

DSNS took the opportunity for the ceremony to take place in Rotterdam, during the 35th edition of the "World Port Days".

The delivery of the last ship of a series of three marks the culmination of a period of dedicated and successful partnership with the Royal Moroccan Navy. All three ships were delivered in time, on schedule, meeting all the requirements as stated in the contract.

After commissioning, the crew will continue with another three weeks of Sail Safety Training in Den Helder and North Sea  conducted by training teams of the Royal Netherlands Navy. After that the Allal Ben Abdellah will start her maiden voyage to Morocco.

The three SIGMA-class frigates for the Royal Moroccan Navy have been designed according to Schelde Naval Shipbuilding's revolutionary SIGMA-approach and are a further development of the SIGMA-corvettes for the Indonesian Navy. The SIGMA approach applies modularity in many areas.

The Royal Moroccan Navy SIGMA Class frigates are equipped to conduct the traditional naval tasks as well as maritime security operations. The vessels are also suited to support humanitarian aid operations.

Dutch frigate sports new mast after mid-life refit

The Karel Doorman-class frigate HrMs Van Speijk has become the first of the four M frigates in Dutch and Belgian naval service to receive a new mast as part of the IP-MF mid-life refit programme.

The Royal Netherlands Navy (RNLN) ship commenced sea trials in June after emerging from the Marinebedrijf yard in Den Helder with its distinctive mast, which incorporate Thales Nederland's Seastar active-phased array radar (APAR).

BNS Leopold I , the first of the two frigates operated by the Belgian Maritime Component, is undergoing its year-long refit in Den Helder; HrMs Van Amstel is scheduled to start IP-MF work in the fourth quarter of 2012; and the final ship, BNS Louise-Marie , is expected to complete its modernisation in 2014.

The IP-MF programme includes electronic and software upgrades to the combat management system and the installation of new navigation, tactical datalink and identification friend-or-foe systems. The flight deck and hangar are being strengthened and enlarged respectively to allow the NH90 NATO Frigate Helicopter to be embarked.

However, the most prominent feature is the new mast and its non-rotating Seastar APAR for surface surveillance, which automatically detects and tracks asymmetric threats and small objects.

Most MPs back ditching the JSF fighter jet, despite the cost

The future of Dutch plans to buy dozens of JSF fighter jets is in doubt on Tuesday after it emerged a majority of MPs think the agreement should be scrapped.

Labour MP Angelien Eijsink said on Tuesday her party will enter a motion in parliament to cancel the JSF jet fighter project, according to media reports..

With Labour joining in calls for the project to be cancelled, there is now a parliamentary majority going into a debate on the subject on Thursday.

Investigation

The Socialist party, anti-immigration PVV, left-wing Liberals D66 and green party GroenLinks all said earlier they want the project stopped.

The small ChristenUnie will introduce a motion for a far-reaching investigation into the cost of the project and how many jobs will lost if it is cancelled.

Replacement

The JSF was ordered to replace the aging fleet of F-16s, but the rising price of its development and construction has brought growing opposition and the final decision to purchase has been delayed by past coalitions.

The first Dutch JSF jet fighter is currently undergoing fuel system tests. A second is on order.

Eijsink, whose party agreed to support the project in 2002 following advice to then prime minister Wim Kok from four right-wing Liberal VVD ministers, said the government should cut its costs and buy something 'off the shelf'.

The estimated cost of cancelling the project is €1bn.

Defence minister Hans Hillen told nu.nl on Monday he is worried the Netherlands will miss out on important defence orders if the JSF is cancelled.

A Dutch ally in war on drugs

A new, shiny light gray, $160 million patrol ship was docked last week at the U.S. Navy’s Outer Mole Pier in Key West.

While there is an American flag aboard, the ship clearly does not belong to the United States, not with the signage in Dutch, framed pictures of Queen Beatrix and beer taps — featuring Heineken.

The ship, named the HNLMS Holland, is the new pride and joy of the Royal Netherlands Navy. It boasts a large communications satellite, infrared cameras, friend-or-foe identification system and long-range surveillance radars all contained within an innovatively designed mast that does not rotate.

When its first tour of duty begins early next year, the 355-foot Holland likely will be patrolling territorial waters of the Kingdom of the Netherlands’ six Caribbean islands: Curaçao, Aruba, Bonaire, Dutch St. Martin, Saba and St. Eustatius, with a combined population of about 335,000.

And while it serves the Caribbean, the Holland also will be a major asset for the U.S.-led Joint Interagency Task Force South, based in Key West. Since its inception in 1994, the task force’s main mission has been drug interdiction by air and sea.

The Netherlands — where drug tourism legally thrives at “coffee houses” in its capital of Amsterdam — might seem an unlikely partner in the United States’ long war on drugs. But the Dutch, along with the French, have been the premier allies in going after traffickers in the Caribbean.

“Since the post Cold War, there has been so much drug money laundered into the official business of government and companies and tax havens,” said Brigadier General Dick Swijgman, who commands the Netherlands Forces in the Caribbean from his base in Curaçao. “Drug money inflicts so much damage on the democracy of small islands.”

The Dutch-protected islands are in prime locations for drug traffickers to transfer their loads. Aruba, Curaçao and Bonaire, located off the coast of Venezuela, serve as northbound transfer points for cocaine and heroin from Colombia and Venezuela that is destined for the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe. Dutch St. Martin, in the Eastern Caribbean, is a transshipment hub for drugs headed for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, according to the International Narcotics Control Strategy Report.

In March, the crew of the Norfolk-based U.S. Navy frigate Elrod intercepted a speedboat carrying an estimated 1,000 pounds of cocaine in the Caribbean.

“A good deal of credit for this interdiction goes to the Dutch Navy,” Cmdr. John Callaway, Elrod’s commanding officer, said in a news release.

A Dutch surveillance plane spotted the suspected traffickers and alerted the Elrod, which sent a helicopter to block the speedboat’s escape. Four people were arrested.

The bust was part of an ongoing 12-country mission called Operation Martillo, Spanish for “hammer.” The operation began earlier this year to go after illicit trafficking in coastal waters off Central and South America.

The Netherlands has a proud maritime history, with its Navy the most powerful in the world in the mid 17th century. Now the Dutch want traffickers to know about their dedicated drug interdiction efforts. “We’re small islands, but don’t mess with us,” Swijgman said. “They are part of our Kingdom.”

About 80 percent of cocaine entering the United States is transported by sea. Last year, 19,000 kilos of the drug, with a street value of about $2.3 billion on the American market, was intercepted during operations similar to Operation Martillo, according to the Netherlands Government Information Service.

In another big bust two years ago, the crew of the Royal Netherlands Navy frigate Van Speijk, with an embedded U.S. Coast Guard law enforcement detachment, caught an 87-foot, Panamanian-flagged fishing vessel called Two Brothers about 34 miles from Aruba. The crew confiscated 3,262 pounds of cocaine with a wholesale value of $46 million. Five Honduran men were arrested.

“People ask why are we fighting drugs. It’s a healthcare issue,” said Vice Admiral Matthieu J.M. Borsboom, commander of the Royal Netherlands Navy. “But we know it’s serious business. Drugs can really disrupt and corrupt institutions, even a nation like Curaçao.”

And even with all the efforts by so many countries, drug trafficking remains active and lucrative. “It is a cat and mouse game,” said Lt. Cmdr. Hugo Sinke, of the Royal Netherlands Navy who serves as a Liaison Officer with JIATF-South. “Drug traffickers have a lot of resources and money and can adapt very quickly. We have to try to creep into their minds and think: What is their next step? And their next move? And we try to beat them to that next step.

“That’s why we try to build ships like these to try to provide a better answer,” Sinke said.

This month the Holland and its crew traveled 10 days from the Netherlands to Key West for warm-water testing. The port call also was an opportunity for Borsboom to host a four-hour sail, during which the captain and crew demonstrated some of the new capabilities and systems to about 40 high-level military guests from friendly countries, including Chile, Sweden, New Zealand, Brazil, France, Indonesia, Australia and Japan. Representatives from the U.S. Southern Command, JIATF-South and the U.S. Coast Guard also were on board.

“Absolutely, we want to show off our ship,” said Lt. Bart Breitenstein, watch officer on the Holland.

It is the first of four new patrol ships being built to replace frigates that are faster and feature more weaponry and missiles, but are aging and not as efficient for most of the tasks required while patrolling the North Sea and what was once called the Netherlands Antilles in the Caribbean.

“While we always prepare for high conflict, we often did more preparing and not much was put into mission,” Borsboom said.

Since the end of the Cold War, major sea battles have become less likely. “What we saw coming up was more and more maritime tasks in the low intention dimension: drug trafficking, counter piracy, fighting illegal trafficking of humans and weapons,” Borsboom said.

To keep costs down, the Holland was designed specifically for these type of missions, as well as for general protection duties of the island nations and humanitarian missions for such events as hurricanes and earthquakes.

The Holland features a helicopter and two go-fast interceptor boats that can travel up to 45 knots with boarding teams of eight each. One of the boats can be deployed in a minute or two from a stern slipway. Both boats put on a show for the dignitaries, roaring through the rough seas.

The Holland’s new surveillance technology can detect an object the size of a soccer ball about 150 nautical miles away in rough seas, said Jan van Hogerwou, Damen Shipyards’ sales manager for the Americas. The technology also is able to track semi-submersible drug submarines now being used by drug cartels.

While the ship can go only a maximum speed of 22 knots, it was painted a light gray to blend in with the Caribbean sky. It also was designed to float at speeds of 0 to 5 knots. “It can just drift in the ocean and whenever they see something on the radar, they can launch one of the fast boats that can go 45 knots,” van Hogerwou said. “They are there within minutes to grab the bad guys, trying to keep the world clean.”

Dutch defence ministry plans to sell F-16's

Romania is interested in buying 15 surplus F-16’s from the Dutch airforce. A number of other countries have also shown interest in Dutch military vehicles and ordnance.

On Thursday, the Defence Ministry confirmed reports that it is looking to sell equipment in order to raise funds. It is not clear how much money the Netherlands will be able to raise with the sale of the fighter jets.

The defence ministry must shave a billion euros from its budget. The ministry is also in preliminary discussions with an undisclosed number of potential buyers, including Chile, which are interested in eight Cougar helicopters.

Today, parliament will discuss the potential sale of 80 Leopard tanks to Indonesia. The ministries of defence and foreign affairs are in favour of the sale but a majority in parliament is against the transaction. The tanks would be sold for 200 million euros.

Netherlands beefs up anti-piracy forces

The Netherlands will boost its military contribution to the NATO force fighting piracy in Somali waters after the country's Parliament approved funding.

The Dutch Parliament voted last week to spend $16.5 million to provide extra personnel, two Cougar helicopters and an unmanned aerial vehicle to join Operation Ocean Shield, in which NATO warships and aircraft have been patrolling the waters off the Horn of Africa.

Also part of the new deployment will be an additional submarine to join the mission in the second half of 2012, Radio Netherlands reported.

The Netherlands has committed two vessels to Operation Ocean Shield as part of the expansion of forces. They include the helicopter-carrying frigate Evertsen, which is on its way to the region, and the amphibious transport ship Rotterdam, which will carry the two Cougar helicopters as well as the drone, the national broadcaster said.

Meanwhile, the multipurpose frigate Van Amstel, which has been deployed as part of the EU's Operation Atalanta, will return to the Netherlands this month.

The mission of Operation Ocean Shield is to counter maritime piracy and build policing capacity with governments in the Horn of Africa region. It operates in conjunction with other naval forces including U.S.-led maritime forces, Operation Atalanta and national actors operating against the threat of piracy in the region.

The North Atlantic Council in March extended Operation Ocean Shield's mandate until the end of 2014.

NATO in May released new statistics on piracy in the region showing a marked decline in the number of hijacking attempts.

Officials said a five pirate hijackings were recorded over the first four months of 2012, which would put the region on a pace for 20 for the year. That's compared with 24 in 2011 and 45 each in 2010 and 2009.

But significantly, only 15 unsuccessful pirate attacks were seen between January and April -- a pace of 60 for the year -- while last year 129 such unsuccessful attacks by were recorded on shipping in the Somali Basin, the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea.

As of May 11, pirates were holding eight ships with an estimated 235 hostages, NATO said.

A Dutch officer this month assumed command of Operation Ocean Shield. Commodore Ben Bekkering of the Dutch navy said the effort has been bearing fruit under the previous commander, Rear Adm. Sinan Azmi Tosun of the Turkish navy.

"On Admiral Tosun's 6-month watch, the success rate of pirates has seen a sharp decline," Bekkering said. "Pirates find it increasingly difficult to deploy from the coast and hunt at sea.

"But the many incidents over the last few months, including attacks and hijackings, make it absolutely clear that we can't let our guard down," he added. "I see it as my absolute task to ensure the trend continues and engage with all partners in the region to maximize our combined effect."

The Dutch Parliament at the same time, however, turned down an appeal from ship-owners to allow merchant ships to hire private protection forces.

Defense Minister Hans Hillen said he understood the ship-owners' position but said the government needed to retain control of armed forces at sea.

"All armed organizations have to fall under the state's responsibility to ensure accuracy and proportional measures," he told lawmakers.