Operation Tricolette
- Duration
- 6 November 2014 - 24 January 2015
- Military personnel
- 222
- Fatalities
- none
- Decorations
- none
From 2014 to 2015, West Africa was plagued by an unprecedentedly large outbreak of the Ebola virus. The World Health Organization considered the virus a threat to global public health. On 19 September 2014, the United Nations established the Mission for Ebola Emergency Relief (UNMEER). UNMEER coordinated the emergency relief for the countries affected. The United Nations also called on its members to provide humanitarian relief supplies and logistics support.
Operation Tricolette
The Netherlands responded to this call. In September, the Netherlands Ministry of Defence considered the possibility to deploy the joint logistic support ship Karel Doorman. The vessel was perfect for the mission, but it had not been completed. On 24 October, it was announced that the Karel Doorman would be deployed nonetheless. The vessel transported humanitarian goods to Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia. The mission was named Operation Tricolette.
Preparations
The crew was extended with a force protection element and a landing-vessel detachment of the Marine Corps. The medical team was also reinforced. This team followed a special training course on Ebola. The whole crew was informed about the virus and precautionary measures. Strict rules had to be complied with to keep the risk of infection to a minimum.
Execution of the mission
The Karel Doorman was deployed from 6 November 2014 to 24 January 2015. The vessel transported humanitarian goods from 9 EU Member States (including the Netherlands), a variety of relief organisations and the private sector. Part of the load was picked up in Southampton and Gibraltar (United Kingdom) and another part in La Rochelle (France).
The Karel Doorman delivered to 3 ports: Freetown in Sierra Leone, Conakry in Guinea and Monrovia in Liberia. These countries were the most badly affected. In addition, it supplied the British vessel the RFA Argus with fuel and goods several times. The RFA Argus is a hospital ship that was utilised off the coast.
After a short period in Dakar, Senegal, the Karel Doorman embarked on its homeward journey on 15 January. The vessel arrived in Den Helder on 24 January, marking the official end of the mission.