A convoy comprising 200 DAF YA-4442 trucks in varied configurations, 53 YPR armored vehicles, alongside containers of spare parts and tools, made its way to the Eemshaven for shipment aboard a Dutch vessel bound for Jordan.
This consignment, weighing a total of 2,667,500 kilograms, encompasses aging assets from the Dutch Commando Landstrijdkrachten.
The equipment, aged over thirty years in various locations, underwent final assessments at disposal sites in Vriezenveen near Almelo and Oudemolen near Assen. These sites, dubbed ‘disposal locations’, serve as showcases for the sale of decommissioned defense assets, as explained by Lieutenant Colonel Harry Jansen, head of the Project Team for Ground-Based System Disposal.
Transporting the 4-ton trucks and YPRs involved four phases, utilizing 75 tractor-trailer combinations (tropco’s) and train transfers, culminating at the Eemshaven—a military stronghold equipped with essential facilities for such operations. Major Harm-Jan Boering, the Disposal of Ground-Based Systems project leader for COMMIT, highlighted the logistical advantage of the Eemshaven over other ports like Rotterdam.
The vessel transporting the assets to Jordan is a ‘lift-on/lift-off ‘ ship hired by Jordan through a civilian shipping company, excluding any involvement or responsibility of the Dutch Defense in the transport or offloading process, as clarified by Jansen and Boering.
Post-transfer, Jansen remains unaware of the units receiving the assets or their intended purpose, emphasizing the conclusion of Dutch responsibility upon the consignment’s departure from the Eemshaven. While commercial considerations limit disclosure of financial specifics, the funds from Jordan will directly benefit the Dutch Defense rather than contributing to the national treasury, as was previously the practice.
The Netherlands’ Project Team for Ground-Based System Disposal, collaborating with the Ministry of Finance’s Section Marketing & Sales, initiated negotiations with Jordan in 2018 following the latter’s interest expressed in 2017. Jordan stands as a recurrent client for the Dutch Defense’s decommissioned assets.
The contract was formalized in 2020, scheduling staggered deliveries starting December this year and concluding in 2024 and 2025 (4-ton trucks). Lieutenant Colonel Klaas Habing, head of the Section Marketing & Sales comprising three military personnel and eight civilians, underscores the project’s magnitude and smooth execution, attributed to effective inter-party communication.