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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

LIBERIA: Dutch navy ship to support peacekeepers

MONROVIA, 19 November 2003 (IRIN) - A Dutch navy ship, the Rotterdam, arrived in Liberia on Tuesday on a three month mission to provide support for the deployment of United Nations peacekeepers by sea into rural Liberia, the ship commander said.

Colonel Hank Ort, the commander of the Rotterdam, told reporters on Wednesday in the capital, Monrovia, that the ship, which docked with 270 military crewmembers, would also perform reconnaissance missions on the Liberian coastline.

"The important part of our mission will be later this year, to transport the military to the southern parts of Liberia - to the ports of Buchanan, Greenville and Harper, where it is very difficult to reach by road," the commander said.

The UN currently has 5,000 troops in Liberia but expects to reach its full troops strength of 15,000 early next year. It is deploying troops in various parts of the country depending on its strength.

"The ship is an amphibious and a transport ship meaning that we can transport goods and personnel where there are no facilities for normal shipping. It has quite powerful capabilities where there is no good infrastructure," he added.

The ship's arrival followed a decision by the Dutch Parliament on 4 November to authorize the Rotterdam to move into Liberian waters as part of the Dutch government's support to the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL).

"In addition to being an amphibious ship, we can transport quite a lot of people - up to 500. There is a limited medical facility on board. We have a surgical team and an intensive care unit," Colonel Ort said.

He said both UN personnel and UNMIL peacekeepers would make use of the ship's medical facilities.

The Rotterdam, manufactured in 1998 and 166 metres long, will also transport UNMIL supplies between Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Theme(s): (IRIN) Conflict

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