The Dutch Ministry of Defence (MoD) has announced plans to replace the Royal Netherlands Navy’s (RNLN’s) two landing platform dock (LPD) ships and four Holland-class offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) with a single class of six ‘Amphibious Transport Ships’.
The vessels are intended to be suitable for wartime scenarios as well as other types of amphibious operations and are planned to be introduced from 2032, Dutch Defence Secretary Christophe van der Maat told the Netherlands House of Representatives on 6 March 2024.
The cost of the programme has been put by the Dutch MoD at between EUR 1 billion and EUR 2.5 billion.
The RNLN uses its LPDs, HNLMS Rotterdam and HNLMS Johan de Witt, for amphibious operations, most obviously the landing of Netherlands Marine Corps units, while the Holland-class OPVs are mainly designed for low-intensity operations, such as drug interdiction missions in the Caribbean.
However, the Dutch MoD stated on its website, “Although these tasks differ considerably from each other, both classes are combined within this project. They grow closer in terms of needs.
“For example, modern amphibious doctrine calls for light, rapid and dispersed action, with light logistical support,” The MoD explained. “The new generation of ships is therefore smaller in size than the current LPDs. This could, for example, lead to multiple Amphibious Transport Ships being deployed simultaneously. The OPVs, on the other hand, are not currently designed for tasks high on the violence spectrum. Due to the deteriorated international security situation, the navy needs ships that are suitable for war conditions.”
The MoD additionally noted that both the LPDs and the Holland-class OPVs will reach the end of their operational lives at around the same time, facilitating their replacement by a single class, and that procuring one type of ship for multiple missions produces economies of scale in purchasing, training and maintenance.
To maintain the RNLN’s capacity the inflow of the new Amphibious Transport Ships and the outflow of the current two LPDs and four OPVs will be co-ordinated and will require a new vessel to be operationally deployable every year from 2032, with the last vessel entering service in 2038. This is actually too late for HNLMS Rotterdam, which is set to reach the end of its service life in 2028, and so the MoD is looking at what measures might be necessary to keep the LPD in service until at least 2032. The outflow of the other ships, meanwhile, roughly corresponds to the end of their operational lifespans.
The Dutch MoD noted that, as the new class is being procured, it is co-ordinating with the UK MoD, given that the two countries have bilaterally operated the UK/NL Amphibious Force for over 50 years.
