Nld-Warship-Holland

On Nov 2w4,, 2024 the HNLMS 'Holland' has once more intercepts a large drugs transportation in the Caribbean Sea. 511 kilograms of cocaine was seized. At the moment of interception direct shots were aimed on the engines of the small boat with drugs. This has been the 7th. catch since the arrival of the naval ship in the Caribbean. The maritime Patrol Aircraft of the Coastguard Caribbean Region saw a suspicious boat in the Caribbean Sea. The 'Holland' immediately set course in the direction of the boat, sending also her FRISCs.The crew of the FRISCs, namely the squadron of the Marine Fleet plus a maritime Law enforcement Team of the US Coastguard, forced the drugs boat to stop its course with shots aimed directly on the engines of this small boat. During the action the four suspected smugglers threw drug packages overboard. All these packages have been taken out of the sea and were brought aboard the 'Holland'. A total of 511 kilograms of cocaine were confiscated. The suspects as well as the drugs were handed over to the US Coastguard.

On Feb 1, 2023,, King Willem-Alexander, Queen Máxima and Princess Amalia were visited by the Zr.Ms. 'Holland', brought from Aruba to Curaçao. However, they arrived an hour later than planned due to technical problems the patrol vessel was experiencing. The king, queen and crown princess have been in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom since Jan 29. After a visit to Bonaire, the members of the royal family arrived in Aruba on Jan 30. In the morning of Feb 2 they boarded the Zr.Ms. 'Holland' for a crossing of (originally) about five hours to Curaçao. The problems were related to one of the propeller shafts. The ship can only sail on one propeller shaft of the two, which meant that the planned speed could not be achieved.

The Zr.MS. 'Holand' has again intercepted a large shipment of drugs in the Caribbean. A patrol plane spotted a number of floating packages in the water and suspected that they contained prohibited substances. Action was taken by sending a fast interceptor boat, which confiscated the more than 5,000 kilograms of drugs. Floating packages usually indicate an agreement between drug dealers that the cargo will later be picked up by another party. There is a risk that the drugs will be intercepted before this happens. Dutch ships have already intercepted more than 30,000 kilos of banned substances in the Caribbean this year and are having a record year. The operation was carried out in cooperation with the Colombian authorities and a US Coast Guard helicopter. It was not the only operation of the past few days. In total, 9,700 kilograms of cocaine were seized during eight different operations. The street value of this would be a total of 327 million dollars. Because the drug packages were found in international waters, they were handed over to the US Coast Guard which has since destroyed the drugs.