Dutch marine frigate HNLMS Evertsen made a stop in Jeddah Islamic Port en route to the Gulf of Aden and the Horn of Africa, where Commodore Ben Bekkering from this flagship will lead NATO’s counter-piracy mission “Operation Ocean Shield.”

On Wednesday, Commodore Bekkering from the Royal Netherlands Navy assumed command of the operation from his Turkish counterpart, Rear Adm. Sinan Azmi Tosun. Embarked with his international staff of 24 in the Air Defense and Command Frigate HNLMS Evertsen, Commodore Bekkering will lead the Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG 1), one of NATO’s multinational, maritime immediate reaction forces, which has been employed since 2009 to support the anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden.

“On Adm. Tosun’s six-month watch, the success rate of pirates has seen a sharp decline. Pirates find it increasingly difficult to deploy from the coast and hunt at sea. But the many incidents over the last few months, including attacks and hijackings, make it absolutely clear that we can’t let our guard down,” Commodore Bekkering said at the end of the day-long operational handover.

Wednesday evening, the Dutch community in Jeddah was welcomed by the crew of 233 on board the HNLMS Evertsen for a dinner and a tour, during which it could admire the ship’s technical characteristics and armament.

Commanding Officer of the HNLMS Evertsen Boudewijn Boots explained that the ship, with a length of 144 meters and a width of 18.8 meters, has a maximum speed of 30 knots (55.6 km/h). It is provided with impressive weaponry, including a torpedo weapon system, missile air defense at short and medium range, harpoon weapon system, and a goalkeeper quick fire canon. As the ship has no 90-degree angle, it is difficult to detect by radar.

The visitors, however, were mainly impressed with the helicopter on board, which is equipped with a sensor to detect submarines, two torpedoes and an infrared camera to detect heat sources.

The air defense and command frigate ship left the Netherlands on May 10 to conduct several counter-piracy exercises before starting its mission next week in the Gulf of Aden, where it will be the flagship of the NATO mission for the coming three months. Commodore Bekkering will be in charge of Operation Ocean Shield for the next six months.