Defense in the Caribbean again has an operational patrol vessel at its disposal. The naval ship His Netherlands Majesty’s Ship (HNLMS) Friesland arrived in Curaçao around 12:00 pm last Sunday. HNLMS Friesland will stay in the Caribbean for at least six months.
In the coming months, the ship will patrol the Caribbean Sea intensively. There it is deployed for, among other things, anti-drug operations, enforcement in the case of arms smuggling and human trafficking, but also for possible hurricane relief within or outside the Kingdom. The ship will also sail for the Coast Guard, and will also be involved in enforcing environmental regulations, for example when it comes to (illegal) fishing.
The new station ship is again an Oceangoing Patrol Vessel of the Holland class. HNLMSFriesland was last active as a station ship in the Caribbean in the spring of 2018. With the presence of the station ship, the armed forces fulfill their constitutional tasks, such as maintaining the international legal order. The previous station ship, HNLMSGroningen, managed to book a record drug seizures of five times in one month and intercepted thousands of kilos of drugs.
