Training mission in Tanzania: the Dutch contribution
The Royal Netherlands Navy formed a 12-man detachment led by Lieutenant Hans van der Meyden.
The Dutch naval detachment had the following tasks:
- supporting the Tanzanian crews in making the vessels ready for operations and in maintaining the vessels;
- providing practice-oriented training in operating the vessels;
- providing advice and assistance in setting up an efficient organisation.
Refit and repair work
The vessels in Dar es Salaam and Mombasa were in a deplorable state. They needed to be repaired and made seaworthy. Most of the refit and repair work had to be carried out by the detachment itself, however. The personnel trained in Germany were nowhere to be found.
The personnel trained in Israel had virtually no professional knowledge and know-how. They were only able to carry out simple tasks and required constant supervision and direction. By the middle of October, it was clear to the naval detachment that the vessels had to be dry-docked for the necessary repair work to be carried out.
Theory lessons
Van der Meyden asked the commander of the Police Marine Unit (PMU) whether he would like the detachment to provide theory lessons so that the Tanzanian personnel could maintain their level of knowledge. It would be a way for the naval detachment to go at least some way in fulfilling its original set of tasks. The commander’s reply was that his personnel had already received proper training.
End of training mission
The lack of work adversely affected the morale of the naval detachment’s members. Moreover, there was little cooperation from the Tanzanian authorities. The will to actually start developing the PMU was lacking. On 16 December 1965, President Nyerere announced that the Tanzanian government was no longer interested in the vessels. This meant the end of the training mission. The naval detachment was disbanded on 18 December and its members returned to the Netherlands on 23 December.