On Wednesday 14 October 2015, Dutch warship, HNLMS Groningen, reached the half way point in her deployment on Operation Atalanta off the coast of Somalia.
To mark the event, the ship’s commanding officer, Commander Walter Hansen, and the youngest sailor on board cut in half a long piece of wood that had photographs attached showing the key events of the deployment. In the best traditions of the Dutch Navy and good humour, they also swapped uniforms for the event.
Having departed their home port of Den Helder in the Netherlands at the beginning of August, the ship’s company will return home in early December.