Mighty Dutch warships visit Portsmouth as Nato allies sail towards home of Royal Navy

HNLMS Freisland and HNLMS Groningen was were passing The Round Tower in Old Portsmouth earlier this afternoon. A small cluster of people gathered to see the Holland-class offshore patrol vessels, including an excited boy seen waving at personnel on board.

International warships commonly visit Portsmouth for various tasking and exercises, with the number of ships depending on the scale of the operations they’re undertaking. Exercise Steadfast Defender, a large operation which saw the UK Carrier Strike Group - led by HMS Prince of Wales - join troops from 31 Nato allies for various tasks in the North Sea.

In the run up to the exercise, which took place in February, Italian aircraft carrier Giuseppe Garibaldi, IS San Giorgio, USS Gunston Hall and many other international ships stopped off in Portsmouth Naval Base.

HNLMS Friesland officially entered service on January 22, 2013, but was involved in missions before that. She assisted a sail training vessel off Iona while participating in an international exercise, after the stricken yacht was left drifting in the water without power. The patrol vessel also helped the US Coast Guard seize a massive haul of cocaine in the Caribbean Sea in November 2015 - totalling 515 kilos and an estimated $17m street value.

HNLMS Groningen, built in the Romanian shipyards in Galati alongside her sister vessels, was commissioned on November 29, 2013. She joined HNLMS Friesland in rescuing the occupants of the Baltic Ace, which sank in the North Sea in 2012. The Royal Netherlands Navy ship has been a regular fixture in the Caribbean Sea, participating in counter-drug operations and coast guard duties. In June 2014, she was heavily involved in supporting the US Coastguard and intercepted a boat carrying 300kg of cocaine off the coast of Panama.