Richard Keulen News

Damen Naval has selected Kongsberg Maritime Sweden to deliver controllable pitch propellers and shaft lines for the four Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) frigates for the Netherlands and Belgium.As part of this contract, Kongsberg will supply four shipsets of its controllable pitch propeller systems and associated equipment including blades, hubcaps, hubs, and shaft lines.The four ASW frigates will replace the current Karel Doorman-class multi-purpose frigates. They will be deployed for a wide variety of tasks, with anti-submarine warfare as their main purpose.

On 29 January, Dutch warship HNLMS De Ruyter, part of NATO's counter-piracy operation Ocean Shield, freed the crew from merchant vessel New York Star after they had barricaded themselves into a “safe room,” (also known as a “citadel”) when their ship came under attack by pirates. As the pirates climbed on board, the master of the New York Star was able to put out a mayday call, which was picked up by an Australian maritime patrol aircraft (MPA), which was on counter-piracy patrol in the area.