Video: Dutch mine hunter en route for possible Strait of Hormuz deployment

The Dutch mine hunter Zr. Ms. Willemstad is departing at the end of this week for the Mediterranean Sea to join a NATO mine countermeasures task group in a move designed to enable rapid deployment to the Strait of Hormuz if an international mission is approved.

The ship will integrate into a standing NATO mine warfare formation operating in the Mediterranean from mid-June 2026. From that position, it can be redirected to the Persian Gulf region if political and military conditions allow a multinational operation to proceed, Dutch ministers Dilan Yesilgöz (Defense) and Tom Berendsen (Foreign Affairs) told parliament in a written briefing.

Alongside the naval deployment, the Netherlands is preparing a combined search, diving, and explosive ordnance disposal team that could be deployed to the Strait of Hormuz and operate from a Dutch support vessel. The government is also considering whether it can provide additional staff capacity to an international coalition. No final decision on Dutch participation has been made.

The mine hunter deployment comes amid continued concern over maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz, a key global shipping route where naval mines are believed to have been deployed in recent tensions. International discussions are ongoing on how to secure safe passage, but operational conditions remain contingent on political agreements with Iran.

Commander Johan Heersema told RTL that the ship is currently only being positioned forward in the Mediterranean rather than deployed into active operations in the Gulf. “If we go that direction, then certain conditions will have to be met to guarantee that it is safe enough for us to do our work,” Heersema said. “There will be a sort of peace agreement in which Iran allows us to do our work there. In the current situation, it is simply too dangerous for us to work there as mine hunters."

He added, "I always expect some risk in our work, but as long as it's just mine hunting, the risks are well mitigated."

Heersema described the vessel’s operational concept as highly specialized. “The ship is nonmagnetic and very quiet. That makes it very difficult for mines to detect us,” he said. “We have a sonar on the ship. With it, we can scan both the seabed and the water. And with that sonar we can then locate mines.”

On mine neutralization, he said, "To make them harmless, we use an underwater robot. We send it toward the mine; there is an explosive inside it. We drive it to the mine, then we detonate it, and then it is neutralized.”

“We have just had a final maintenance period in Belgium because there may be a longer deployment than initially planned. That is now just finished, and everything is in top condition,” Heersema added.