HNLMS KAREL DOORMAN

General information

Course/Position

Latest news

Victim of Houthi attack on m/v 'Verbena' treated aboard ship of Aspides mission

The HNLMS 'Karel Doorman' treated an injured person on board for the first time during the mission in the Red Sea. Aircraft from the USS 'Philippine Sea' had airlifted the severely injured seafarer from the attacked cargo m/v 'Verbena' (IMO: 9522075) for medical attention. He was from Nepal and was taken to 'Karel Doorman' for life-saving surgery after his ship was hit by two missiles in the Gulf of Aden. The victim was injured in a fire that broke out after the rocket attack on June 13. The victim was landed in Djibouti on June 16 and was receiving further treatment there.

Support ship entered Suez Canal after repairs

On May 11 at around 6:45 a.m. Dutch time, the Zr.Ms. 'Karel Doorman' was the first of a group of ships to enter the Suez Canal, on its way to the Red Sea. The logistics support ship previously suffered from technical problems that forced the Suez Canal passage to be postponed. On May 6, the ship was scheduled to exchange the Mediterranean Sea for the Red Sea to join the EU mission Aspides. That did not happen after problems with the Goalkeepers occurred for a relatively long time after departure. The rapid-fire guns responsible for proximity defense against rapidly incoming targets suffered from malfunctions. Due to the nature of the mission and the high threat, no risks were taken and the deployment was postponed for a while. Experts were flown in from the Netherlands to support the technicians on board. After repairs, the ship went back to sea for tests on May 7.

Logistics support ship suffered problems with weapon system

The Zr.Ms. 'Karel Doorman' was stranded in the Mediterranean Sea with technical problems, on the way to the Red Sea. According to the ministry, there were problems with 'one of the weapon systems. A source reported that was is a defect in two of the automatic rapid-fire cannons, the so-called Goalkeepers. These are needed to destroy incoming missiles. A technical team has been flown in to solve the problem. The ship had left Den Helder for the operations area on April 21, 2024, fully operational. After the Zr.Ms. 'Karel Doorman' has completed the necessary tests, the ship will sail to the operating area as quickly as possible.