The Joint Logistic Support Ship (JSS) Karel Doorman was officially put
into service in the Royal Netherlands Navy on 29 April. The largest
ship of the Dutch navy is now called His Majesty (Zr. Ms.) Karel Doorman.
"The Karel Doorman is impressive in size, but also because of the
number of functionalities. This ship is literally a multi-tool, "said
Commander of Naval Forces lieutenant-general Rob Verkerk at commissioning.
"It can be used for strategic transport of our armed forces, our
allies and international organizations like NATO and the UN. Both military
and humanitarian. That Doorman already proved recently in the fight
against Ebola. With this combination of features, the Karel Doorman
delivers a truly international niche capability. " |
The new logistical support vessel can be deployed to supply units at
sea, for strategic sea transport, and for logistical support from the
sea (“seabasing”), with the ship acting as a seaborne base
for implementing and supporting land operations. It must be possible
to perform these duties worldwide, and anywhere within the spectrum
of force. In addition to a below-deck transport deck, medical facilities,
and its own loading and unloading facilities, the new vessel also has
a helicopter deck with two landing pads for different types of helicopters.
The Karel Doorman replaces two supply ships, the HNLMS Zuiderkruis (decommissioned
in 2012) and the HNLMS Amsterdam (to be decommissioned this year). The
new vessel was largely built at Damen’s shipyard in Romania, but
has been fitted out in Vlissingen.
The ship has a cargo deck area of 1730 square meters to house combat
and transport equipment (including tanks Leopard 2A6), a vast hangar
for the permanent home of six helicopters, NH90 helicopters and two
CH-47 Chinook, a flight deck with two runways for heavy helicopters,
as well as significant volume for cargo and fuel - 7700 cubic meters
of fuel oil, 1,000 cubic meters of aviation fuel, 450 tons of water
and 400 tons of ammunition and other goods, with the possibilities to
transfer them while underway at sea (at a rate of 680 cubic meters of
liquid per hour).
It is fitted with an integrated mast I-Mast 400, a Sea Master 400 radar
and a Sea Watcher 100 by Thales Nederland. Armament consists of two
seven-barreled 30mm anti-aircraft gun systems Goalkeeper by Rheinmetall
and six remote-controlled turret units - two Oto Melara Marlin WS 30
mm cannons and four Oto Melara Hitrole NT with 12.7-mm machine guns
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