HNLMS AMSTERDAM

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Supply ship decommissioned after 19 years in the Dutch Navy

After 19 years of service, the "Zr. Ms. Amsterdam" was decomissioned on Dec 4, 2014, in its home port Den Helder witha military ceremony. The Dutch Defense Minister Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert then handed the ship over to the Peruvian Defense Minister Peter Cateriano Bellido. It will be serving in the Peruvian naby as BNP "Tacna". Since its commissioning on Sep 2, 1995, around 2,000 times Dutch and international units were equipped with fuel, water, spare parts, food, ammunition and other goods. The "Zr. Ms. Amsterdam" participated in several missions like the operation Enduring Freedom in the context of the international fight against terrorism in the Arabian Gulf. In 2010-2011, the ship took part in anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden and the Somali Basin. In that period, the ship intercepted 44 pirates, took aboard the hijacked yacht "Choizil" and guided several merchant ships. In 2013 the ship also intercepted as many as 3,600 kilos of drugs.

Somali pirates: Dutch Public prosecutor demands 10 year sentence

The Dutch Public prosecutor demands a sentence of 10 years for the skipper, 8 years for three of the suspects and 7 years for the fifth remaining suspect. The five Somali pirates appeared in Rotterdam court for seizing the South African yacht Choizil. They were stopped on the coast near Tanzania by the Dutch vessel ‘Amsterdam’. Although the suspects deny, two of the five suspects admitted they were on their way to hijack a boat, before they were stopped. According to the Dutch navy, the Somali’s were in a small boat with 15 others, after they got off the seized yacht. Before the Marines reached them, it is thought the suspects may have thrown the weapons they were carrying overboard. The other fifteen occupants were released earlier due to lack of evidence. http://www.rnw.nl/africa/article/somali-pirates-public-prosecutor-demands-10-year-sentence