According to Kate Tringham, Jane’s Defence Weekly correspondent, the Netherlands Defence Material Organisation (DMO) formally handed over the 28,000-ton Joint Logistic Support Ship (JSS) HNLMS Karel Doorman (A833) to the Royal Netherlands Navy (RNLN) on September 24, 2015. The ceremony marked the successful completion of the majority of the ship’s sea acceptance test programme, a DMO spokesperson said. HNLMS Karel Doorman will now start its work-up trajectory, with a view to achieving full operational readiness by mid-2016.
Built by Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding yard in Vlissingen under a contract signed in December 2009, Karel Doorman was laid down in June 2011 and launched in October 2012. Before completion the ship found itself in 2013 declared surplus to requirements under austerity-driven defence budget cuts. The decision was reversed by the Dutch government and it officially entered service with the RNLN on 24 April 2015.
Following commissioning, the ship embarked on a nine-week deployment to Norway, Canada, the United States, and the Dutch Antilles where it conducted warm weather trials, and underwater and magnetic signature testing under DMO supervision. In addition to the DMO’s test programme, Karel Doorman was used for replenishment at sea operations throughout the nine weeks, transport of equipment to the Dutch Antilles, and successful trials with a Bell-Boeing MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. It also participated in the annual «Hurricane Exercise» («HUREX 2015»), demonstrating the versatility and potential of the ship, the spokesperson said.
Prior to commissioning, in November 2014 the ship also completed a three-month deployment to West Africa to deliver aid to Ebola-struck countries.
Characteristics
| GENERAL | |
| Yard reference | 412 |
| Customer | Royal Netherlands Navy |
| Basic functions | Replenishment-At-Sea/Fuelling-At-Sea (RAS/FAS), Sea Basing, Strategic Transport, Disaster Relief, Training |
| Classification | Germanischer Lloyd, SOLAS and MARPOL compliant |
| NAVAL FEATURES | |
| Shock resistant, Blast bulkheads, Nuclear Biological Chemical and Damage (NBCD) citadel, Degaussing system, Radar Cross Section (RCS), Underwater Noise and Magnetic Signature Reduction | |
| DIMENSIONS | |
| Length OverAll (LOA) | 671.6 feet/204.7 m |
| Beam Moulded | 99.7 feet/30.4 m |
| Draft design | 25.6 feet/7.8 m |
| Depth to n°1 deck | 61 feet/18.6 m |
| Displacement full load | approximately 27,000 tonnes |
| PERFORMANCE | |
| Service speed | 18 knots/20.7 mph/33.3 km/h |
| Range at 15 knots/17 mph/28 km/h | 10,000 NM/11,508 miles/18,520 km |
| PROPULSION SYSTEM | |
| Diesel-electric propulsion system | |
| Generator power | 24,900 kW/33,391.5 hp |
| Propulsion power | 17,800 kW/23,870.2 hp |
| Propellers | 2 × Fixed-Pitch Propeller (FPP) |
| Bow-thruster | 2 × FPP |
| Stern-thruster | 1 × FPP |
| TRANSPORT CAPACITY | |
| RoRo space | approximately 2,350 m2/ 25,295.2 feet2 |
| Lanemeters | approximately 2,000 m |
| Ammunition. Store | 730 m2/ 7,857.6 feet2 |
| Store | 1,000 m2/10,763.9 feet2 |
| F76 | 7,700 m3/271,922.9 feet3 |
| F44 | 1,000 m3/35,314.6 feet3 |
| FW | 400 m3/14,125.9 feet3 |
| Flight deck with 2 spots for a Chinook helicopter | |
| Night Vision Compatible helicopter landing aids | |
| Ground Power Units (Helicopter Start & Service Power) | |
| Hangar space for 2 × Chinook size helicopters in the fully spread condition, space for 6 × Chinook size with blades folded | |
| ACCOMODATION | |
| Air-conditioned spaces for 300 crew and special personnel consisting of cabins, stores, galley, mess rooms and sanitary spaces | |
| A fully equipped role 3 hospital | |
| WEAPONS & SENSOR SUITE | |
| Radar systems | Extensive radar suite for both surface-to-surface and surface-to-air surveillance, Identification Friend or Foe (IFF), IO-detection System |
| Communication | LF/MF/HF/VHF/UHF Transceivers, Satcom system, Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS), Message Handling System (MHS), Internal communication system, LAN (secure and civil) |
| Weapons | 2 × Goalkeeper CIWS |
| 4 × Super Rapid Blooming Offboard Chaff (SRBOC) launchers | |
| 2 × 30-mm remote controlled force protection gun | |
| 4 × 12.7-mm/.50 remote controlled medium caliber gun | |
| NAUTICAL EQUIPMENT | |
| GPS, Integrated Bridge System, echo sounder, power- and ship’s management system with integrated Electronic Chart Display & Information System (ECDIS), Nav-radars I&F (2 ×), Warship Automatic Identification System (W-AIS) | |
| EQUIPMENT | |
| 2 × Dual purpose Replenishment-At-Sea (RAS) equipment according to Stanag | |
| Stern quarter ramp 100 ton | |
| 3 × 50 m3/day RO-units | |
| 2 × Fast Rib | |
| 2 × Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel (LCVP) | |
| 1 × Deck Crane 40 ton | |
| 2 × Store elevator | |
| 1 × Ammunition elevator | |
| 1 × Platform elevator | |
The Damen Joint Support Ship fulfils the operational requirements of the Royal Netherlands Navy for a robust multifunctional platform