Twenty students together with their teachers visited the HNLMS Pelikaan on October 22nd for a guided tour and presentation about the work the Department of Defense in the Caribbean. HNLMS Pelikaan is the logistical support ship of the Commander of The Netherlands Forces in the Caribbean permanently based on the naval base Parera on Curacao. During the guided tour on the naval vessel the students got to meet the crew that gave them an insight into life on board and the work they do. Government Commissioner, Mr. Marcolino Franco, paid a visit to the ship and met with the new Commander of HNLMS Pelikaan, LTZ1 David Boom. Contrary to earlier reported that appeared in the media HNLMS Pelikaan and crew were not on St. Eustatius for a military intervention. They are busy with regular transport weeks whereby they sail to the Caribbean islands to distribute military goods.
On October 15th De Pelikaan left the naval base Parera and provided logistical support by transporting military equipment and goods between the islands. A part of those goods they transported are for the Gwendoline van Putten School, which the Commander of The Netherlands Forces in the Caribbean has donated to the school.
Cultural visit
On Sunday the 21st the HNLMS Pelikaan arrived in the harbor of St. Eustatius. The crew got the opportunity to see the island and in cooperation with STENAPA they hiked the Quill Trail up to the volcano. After the visit of the HNLMS Pelikaan to St. Eustatius the ship departed the harbor on Monday afternoon and continued its logistical tasking between the islands.