HrMs Vlaardingen (M863) & HrMs Zierikzee (M862)

HrMs's Vlaardingen and Zierikzee are known as Alkmaar class minehunters

The main task of the minehunters is to keep the sea, coastal waters and harbour approaches free of mines. They also protect maritime units in areas where there are mines by conducting specific mine countermeasures operations.The minehunters can be deployed anywhere in the world to provide support to land operations from the sea. But they can also operate closer to home, locating and clearing mines and other explosive ordnance at sea in the Dutch sector of the Continental Shelf.  Thanks to their special glass-reinforced polyester construction, minehunters produce very little sound and no magnetic field disturbance. They will not, therefore, set off a mine if they pass over it.

The size of the crew depends on the tasks to be carried out. The total size can vary between 28 and 38 crew members. Everyone on board has their own tasks and specialty. In addition, every crew member has a specific role in the event of, for instance, a fire or if the ship sustains damage. At all times, the crew is a single team, working closely together in a relatively small space, often under difficult circumstances.  The 6 minehunters of the Alkmaar class operated by the Royal Netherlands Navy are a joint design of the Netherlands, Belgium and France. France built the mine-hunting equipment, Belgium provided the electronics and the Netherlands constructed the propulsion train. To reflect the cooperation between the three countries, the international name of this class of ship is the Tripartite class.As a cost-cutting measure, four minehunters were decommissioned in 2011. These were HrMs Haarlem, HrMs Maassluis, HrMs  Hellevoetsluis and HrMs Middelburg.

Both vessels are seen arriving at Leith on the 22nd June 2012.

HrMs Zierikzee (M862)

HrMs Vlaardingen (M863)

HrMs Van Kinsbergen (A902)

HrMs Van Kinsbergen (A902)

Van Kinsbergen is a Seamanship training craft with the Netherlands Navy.  She was accepted in the Dutch service in November 1999.  She replaced the previous vessel Zeefakkel in 2000.   She is white in colour with a buff coloured funnel.   

She is seen here arriving at Leith on the 22^nd June 2021.

HrMs Mercuur (A900)

HrMs Mercuur (A900)

Mercuur is a Submarine Support Ship and Torpedo Trials and Recovery Vessel with the Netherlands Navy.  She was accepted in the Dutch service in August 1987 and displaces 1,400 tonnes.

An ASW escort version of the design was unsuccessful offered commercially.  She has a helicopter vertical-replenishment deck above the torpedo workshop.  The sonar array is a large bow-mounted dome that protrudes well below the keel; the two underwater torpedo muzzles exit near the bow.  Two 20mm Oerlikon Mk 10 AA originally fitted have been removed, as has been the triple 324mm ASW torpedo tube mounting.  She has twin screw diesel electric drive and as well as being able to launch and recover torpedoes, Mercuur is able to act as a minelayer

She is seen her making her first visit to Leith on Friday 22^nd June 2012.