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HNLMS Tromp (F803)
Encyclopedia
HNLMS Tromp (F803) (Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
: "Hr. Ms. Tromp") is the second De Zeven Provinciën class
De Zeven Provinciën class frigate
The De Zeven Provinciën class frigates are highly advanced air-defence and command frigates in service with the Koninklijke Marine . This class of ships is also known as LCF...
frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
of the Royal Netherlands Navy
Royal Netherlands Navy
The Koninklijke Marine is the navy of the Netherlands. In the mid-17th century the Dutch Navy was the most powerful navy in the world and it played an active role in the wars of the Dutch Republic and later those of the Batavian Republic and the Kingdom of the Netherlands...
. It was laid down in 1999, launched in 2001, and commissioned in 2003. The frigate is named after Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
naval heroes Maarten Tromp
Maarten Tromp
Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp was an officer and later admiral in the Dutch navy. His first name is also spelled as Maerten.-Early life:...
(1598–1653) and Cornelis Tromp
Cornelis Tromp
Sir Cornelis Maartenszoon Tromp, 1st Baronet was a Dutch naval officer. He was the son of Lieutenant Admiral Maarten Tromp. He became Lieutenant Admiral General in the Dutch Navy and briefly Admiral General in the Danish Navy...
(1629–1691).
As of 18 June 2010, Commander René Tas is HNLMS Tromp's commanding officer.
The frigate should not be mistaken with the former HNLMS Tromp (F801), which was a Tromp class frigate built in the 1970s.
Theatre Ballistic Missile Tracking Exercises, 2006
In November 2006, HNLMS Tromp participated in a live Theatre Ballistic Missile (TBM) Tracking Exercise (TRACKEX). The event took place on the Pacific Missile Range Facility off Hawaii. For the TRACKEX, HNLMS Tromp was equipped with the experimental Extended Long Range (ELR) modification to its Thales NederlandThales Nederland
Thales Nederland B.V. is a subsidiary of Thales Group involved primarily in naval defence systems...
SMART-L
SMART-L
SMART-L is a naval long-range search radar from Thales Nederland, formerly Hollandse Signaalapparaten ....
radar. During the exercise, a ballistic missile surrogate was launched from Kauai Island and was successfully tracked by the HNLMS Tromp using its ELR-modified SMART-L
SMART-L
SMART-L is a naval long-range search radar from Thales Nederland, formerly Hollandse Signaalapparaten ....
radar. Another successful TRACKEX was held in December 2006.
Deployment to the Indian Ocean, 2010
HNLMS Tromp deployed to the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa as part of Operation Atalanta, which is composed of European UnionEuropean Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
naval units. The operation is tasked with suppression of piracy in the region.
On 14 March 2010, HNLMS Tromp responded to a distress call from the transport ship MV Lubeck, which was under attack from two pirate skiff
Skiff
The term skiff is used for a number of essentially unrelated styles of small boat. The word is related to ship and has a complicated etymology: "skiff" comes from the Middle English skif, which derives from the Old French esquif, which in turn derives from the Old Italian schifo, which is itself of...
s. The Tromp launched her helicopter, which forced the whaler
Whaler
A whaler is a specialized ship, designed for whaling, the catching and/or processing of whales. The former included the whale catcher, a steam or diesel-driven vessel with a harpoon gun mounted at its bows. The latter included such vessels as the sail or steam-driven whaleship of the 16th to early...
mother ship to stop. The Tromp then sent a boarding party to secure the vessel. The following day, the Tromp tracked down the two skiffs about 100 km from the whaler and stopped them. Crew from the Tromp sank the mother ship, and confiscated satellite phones, AK-47
AK-47
The AK-47 is a selective-fire, gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, first developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is officially known as Avtomat Kalashnikova . It is also known as a Kalashnikov, an "AK", or in Russian slang, Kalash.Design work on the AK-47 began in the last year...
s, a rocket launcher
Rocket launcher
A rocket launcher is any device that launches a rocket-propelled projectile, although the term is often used in reference to mechanisms that are portable and capable of being operated by an individual....
, and boarding equipment.
Three days later, on 17 March 2010, HNLMS Tromp was involved in an incident with suspected pirates off the coast of eastern Africa. Two small boats approached the frigate at high speed. After realizing the Tromp was a warship, the pirates fled. However, the Tromp pursued and captured the two boats, along with a mother ship. The frigate destroyed the two boats and released the pirates to the mother ship, after it had been cleared of weapons.
On 5 April 2010, HNLMS Tromp rescued the container ship MV Taipan by rappelling 6 Marines from its Lynx helicopter (under covering fire from the helicopter and the Tromp) to the deck of the Taipan, resulting in the capture of 10 pirates. The 13 crew (2 German, 3 Russian, 8 Sri Lankan) were unharmed having taken refuge in a secure location after stopping the ship's engines.
State Visit Norway, 2010
On 1 June 2010, Queen BeatrixBeatrix of the Netherlands
Beatrix is the Queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands comprising the Netherlands, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and Aruba. She is the first daughter of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld. She studied law at Leiden University...
visited Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
with the HNLMS Tromp for a 3-day state visit
State visit
A state visit is a formal visit by a foreign head of state to another nation, at the invitation of that nation's head of state. State visits are the highest form of diplomatic contact between two nations, and are marked by ceremonial pomp and diplomatic protocol. In parliamentary democracies, heads...
.
Libyan Uprising, 2011
On her return to her homeport in February 2011 through the Mediterranean, the ship was deployed to the Gulf of Sirte to potentially assist in the safe return of Dutch nationals during the 2011 Libyan uprising. While performing an evacuation mission near the town of SirteSirte
Sirte is a city in LibyaSirte may also refer to:* Sirte Declaration, a 1999 resolution to create the African Union* Sirte Oil Company, a Libyan oil companyIn geography:* Gulf of Sirte, alias for Gulf of Sidra on Libya's coast...
, a Lynx
Westland Lynx
The Westland Lynx is a British multi-purpose military helicopter designed and built by Westland Helicopters at its factory in Yeovil. Originally intended as a utility craft for both civil and naval usage, military interest led to the development of both battlefield and naval variants...
helicopter and its three man crew were captured by members of the Libyan Army
Libyan Army
In 2009 the IISS estimated that the Ground Forces of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya numbered 25,000 with an additional, estimated, 25,000 conscripts...
. The Dutch engineer and Swedish woman they were trying to rescue were allowed to leave Libya; negotiations yielded the crew's release. The Libyans kept the helicopter.