Dutch Frigate Evertsen Replaces De Ruyter on Hormuz Standby
The minehunter Willemstad also returns home as the Netherlands keeps its options open on a Strait mission
The air defence and command frigate Zr.Ms. De Ruyter and the minehunter Zr.Ms. Willemstad are returning to the Netherlands, while the frigate Zr.Ms. Evertsen departs at short notice for the Middle East. Defence minister Dilan Yesilgoz-Zegerius set out the rotation in a letter to parliament.
The stated purpose is to preserve readiness rather than to reduce it. Rotating the ships keeps the units serviceable and the crews within their deployment limits, and leaves the option open for a later commitment to a mission in the Strait of Hormuz. Evertsen takes over the tasks of De Ruyter within a few weeks.
The Netherlands is part of a large international coalition planning the Multinational Military Mission for the Strait of Hormuz, under French and British leadership. The Dutch cabinet has not yet taken a final decision on an active military contribution. If it does, parliament will be informed under Article 100 of the constitution, the procedure that governs the deployment of Dutch forces abroad.
The two ships coming home had different tasks. Willemstad spent the past three months prepositioned in the Mediterranean, contributing to the standing NATO mine countermeasures group operating there. De Ruyter set course for the waters around the Strait of Hormuz in June and has in recent weeks operated mainly in the Arabian Sea with a multinational staff embarked.
That staff function is the part of the deployment that is easy to overlook. An air defence and command frigate provides the headquarters afloat from which a coalition mission would be run, which is why the hull is being replaced rather than simply withdrawn, and why the gap between De Ruyter leaving and Evertsen arriving is measured in weeks.
The ministry describes free and safe passage through the strait as crucial, noting its importance to the world economy. The security situation in and around Hormuz remains unpredictable, and the Dutch position is that it stands ready to contribute to de-escalation and freedom of navigation while remaining closely involved in the military planning for the multinational mission.
