The air-defence and command frigate HNLMS De Ruyter has left its homebase Den Helder travelling to the Strait of Hormuz. There, it will try to guarantee free passage for shipping for the next five months, even though the ship is not in the best shape.
The ship, with more than two hundred crew members, is part of a European maritime mission (EMASOH) led by France. Its aim is to prevent incidents and de-escalate tensions in the region. The Strait of Hormuz is crucial for the world oil trade. The ship left for this five-month mission on 28 January.
Problems with propulsion
SWZ|Maritime’s sister publication Schuttevaer has reported the ship is not in the best shape at the moment as one of the gears in the gear boxes is damaged. As such, the ship cannot sail on full speed. A spokesman of the Royal Netherlands Navy told the Dutch newspaper for inland navigation that repair is not immediately necessary and can be performed upon return. The Navy considers the risk of an attack during the mission to be small.
Attacks on tankers
Immediate cause for the mission was a number of incidents in May and June in which six supertankers were attacked. According to the Americans, Iran was behind this, but Tehran strongly contradicts this. No ships have been attacked since then.
At the beginning of this year tensions between Iran and the U.S. were high due to the American attack on an Iranian general near Baghdad. In retaliation, the Iranians attacked two American military bases in Iraq. After that the peace in the region returned somewhat.
Low threat
According to the cabinet the threat to the naval ship is low. The frigate first goes to the United Arab Emirates where the headquarters of EMASOH is located. In addition to the Netherlands and France, Belgium, Denmark and Greece have also pledged equipment or troops.
Source: ANP (with addition from Schuttevaer)
Picture: HMS De Ruyter (by Ein Dahmer).
