Dutch Air Defense Command Vessel to Join UK Carrier Strike Group

Dutch Air Defense Command Vessel, HNLMS Evertsen will join UK Carrier Strike Group on its voyage to the Sea of Japan following a six-week period of maintenance at Damen Shiprepair Amsterdam.

The shipyard prepared the warship for the voyage of nearly 40,000 km that it will soon be making to Japan together with the UK Carrier Strike Group.

HNLMS Evertsen is one of the four air defence and command frigates (LCF) of the De Zeven Provinciën class. Under the leadership of Damen Naval in Vlissingen, these LCF frigates were built between 1998 and 2005 by the Dutch maritime industry.

The maintenance works were carried out between 1 March and 13 April on behalf of the Royal Netherlands Navy’s Naval Maintenance and Sustainment Agency (DMI). These activities also engaged various Dutch companies such as Braspenning Coatings from Amsterdam, installation company FMJ NW from Amsterdam, ARP Valve Repair from Middelburg, BUKO Algeco (Beverwijk) and RBC Safety from Rotterdam. The maintenance of the propeller shafts was carried out by Damen Shiprepair Amsterdam under the supervision of Wärtsilä Nederlands, in collaboration with Wagenborg Nedlift and PMR Hydraulics, among others. Furthermore, various minor repairs and paintwork were carried out on the ship.

From May, HNLMS Evertsen will become part of the UK Carrier Strike Group. Under the command of the British aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, this squadron has Japan as its final destination. The strike group will undertake a range of operations and training with allies and partners along the way, including maritime missions with NATO in the Mediterranean Sea and Coalition operations in the Middle East.

The following major planned maintenance programme of the HNLMS Evertsen is expected to take place in 2022.