Dutch offshore patrol ship gets eye-catching paint job for tropical waters

摘要

The first of the Royal Netherlands Navy's (RNLN's) Holland-class offshore patrol vessels has not yet been fitted with its distinctive integrated mast, but the 3,750-ton ship has already been given a striking purple-blueish coating. The technologically advanced paint scheme was the result of a study by the Netherlands' Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) that focused on aspects such as the ship's radar reflectivity, infrared signature and visibility to the unaided eye. The last element was particularly important, according to a TNO spokesperson, "because the prima ry mission [of the Holland class] is expected to be anti-piracy and counter-drugs. That means that the 'enemy' should not be able to spot these ships from a coastal vantage point or sitting in small boats." With counter-piracy and counter-trafficking operations usually taking place in tropical or subtropical waters (the RNLN has a patrol responsibility for the Netherlands Antilles in the Caribbean), the exotic colouring was judged by the TNO to be the most suitable for these environments.