Damen Modernizes Dutch Landing Platform Dock

Damen Naval shipyard has completed modernization of Landing Platform Dock HNLMS Johan de Witt operated by the Royal Netherlands Navy.

Over the past 13 months, the amphibious transport ship has undergone a comprehensive Midlife Update (MLU). The ship was handed over to the Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) on Friday 31 March on schedule.

The ship will now be towed to Den Helder, where the Naval Maintenance and Sustainment Agency, together with Damen Naval, will carry out some additional work.

This upgrade was a joint project between Damen Naval and Damen Shiprepair Vlissingen (DSV). The companies share a shipyard in Vlissingen-Oost, where the Johan de Witt arrived on 3 March 2022. In July 2022, the ship was moved to DSV's dry dock for, among other things, conservation work on the underwater hull, superstructure, and all tanks. In November 2022, the Johan de Witt left the dry dock ahead of schedule and work continued quayside.

There were 69 MLU items planned, including refurbishment or replacement of equipment such as armament and communication systems, freshwater production (RO units), seawater pumps for firefighting and cooling, and more. The bridge, joint operations room, command, and engineering centre were completely refurbished, and the masts were also rebuilt. Over 60 km of new cables were pulled, and new decking installed. Medical facilities on board, such as the operating room, IC beds and nursing room, were completely modernised.

HNLMS Johan de Witt is the second Landing Platform Dock that Damen Naval has built for the Royal Netherlands Navy. Construction of the 176.35-metre vessel began in 2003 at the Damen Naval shipyard in Romania, and in 2004 the hull was towed to Vlissingen, where it was further completed. Completion and commissioning followed in 2007.