On 19 November Operation Atalanta’s Force Commander, Commodore Luyckx, paid a visit to the Dutch-flagged cargo ship, Super Servant 3, during the vessel’s transit from Safaga in Egypt to Abu Dhabi in the UAE.

The Netherlands has deployed more than 200 specially trained Dutch Marine Teams to the Gulf of Aden in recent years to ensure the safe and secure passage of Netherlands-flagged merchant vessels. This was the first time that Commodore Luyckx has had the chance to meet one of the Dutch Marine merchant vessel protection teams at sea.

The Dutch Marines who are embarked on board HNLMS Tromp also took the opportunity to meet with their Marine comrades onboard Super Servant 3.

Speaking about his visit to Super Servant 3, Commodore Luyckx stated “I was enormously impressed with the professionalism of the Dutch Marne team and the security measures on board Super Servant 3 to protect the ship and her crew from any potential attack. That, together with a state of the art Dutch Navy air-defence frigate sailing alongside her probably made her the safest Dutch-flagged vessel at sea!”

The company who owns Super Servant 3 stated “We very much appreciate the efforts of the Dutch Marines to keep our ship safe and ensure a safe passage through the Indian Ocean.”