Designed to fulfill a wide variety of maritime missions ranging from underway replenishment to strategic transport, and from humanitarian assistance/disaster relief to sea basing operations, the Joint Support Ship (JSS) Karel Doorman is the largest warship in the Royal Netherlands Navy.
Laid down in 2011 and constructed in sections at Damen shipyards in Galaţi, Romania, the 28,000-ton JSS was launched in 2013 and fitted out in Vlissingen, Netherlands. Acquisition of the Karel Doorman was nearly called off because of budget cuts in 2014. As she finished sea trials that year, the Ebola outbreak struck west Africa, and the Dutch JSS was rushed into service before her official commissioning. Following a successful deployment delivering medical and humanitarian assistance, the Karel Doorman returned home to the Netherlands for a proper commissioning ceremony, which took place on 29 April 2015. An innovative 2016 agreement with Germany helped overcome manning/budgetary challenges for the Netherlands and filled an amphibious capabilities gap for the German Navy by permitting naval and Marine forces from the two countries to operate together from the Dutch warship.
Measuring 672 feet overall, with a 100-foot beam and 26-foot draft, the Karel Doorman’s impressive sealift capacity includes a roll-on/roll-off cargo area of 25,295 square feet accessed by a 100-ton quarter ramp, 10,764 square feet of general cargo space, and 7,858 square feet for ammunition storage. Liquid storage includes 2.03 million gallons of fuel, 264,172 gallons of aviation fuel, and 105,669 gallons of freshwater. The vessel has an underway replenishment station port and starboard and a flight deck with landing spots for two CH-47 Chinook-sized helicopters. The large aviation hangar can accommodate six Chinook helicopters with their blades folded.
The Karel Doorman is fitted with a 40-ton deck crane and a steel beach stern ramp to permit cargo transfer with landing craft. The vessel operates two landing craft, vehicle, personnel (LCVP), and two small rigid-hull inflatable boat interceptors via davits.
The JSS incorporates numerous signature-reduction measures. Primary sensors are housed in a single mast module integrating the Seamaster 400 (SMILE) air-search radar, SeaWatcher 100 (Seastar) active phased-array surface-search radar, Gatekeeper electro-optical surveillance system, and satellite communication systems. Self-defense equipment includes two 30-mm Goalkeeper close-in weapon systems, two 30-mm remote-controlled Marlin cannons, four 12.7-mm Hitrole remotely operated machine guns, and four Super Rapid Bloom Offboard Countermeasures (SRBOC) chaff/decoy launchers. The Karel Doorman houses a fully equipped Role-3 hospital, and the ship’s 175-person crew can be supplemented with 125 additional embarked personnel, including medical specialists, combat troops, and an aviation contingent.
The diesel-electric propulsion system incorporates five diesel generators providing 25 megawatts. Two main diesel engines power two shafts with fixed propellers, enabling speeds of 18 knots and a cruising range of 10,000 nm at 15 knots. Two bow thrusters and one stern thruster are fitted for enhanced maneuverability.
