Commander RNLN and founder of the Maritime Capacity Alliance Pepijn Verstand

Founder Maritime Capacity Alliance awarded!

On November 6, 2020, Commander Pepijn Verstand received the Medal of Merit in silver from the Commander of the Armed Forces Admiral Rob Bauer.

Pepijn received this award for his outstanding achievements in the context of the adaptive armed forces, and in particular for building the Maritime Capacity Alliance and the various operational solutions that he has realised with it.

Lieutenant Admiral Bauer, who presented the decoration on behalf of the Minister of Defence, stated: “The projects that Pepijn is able to realize, each and every one of them are excellent examples of the future, adaptive armed forces. Due to his meritorious attitude and phenomenal commitment, he is able to accomplish things in a civil-military context that appeal to the imagination, and which are very useful to the Dutch Armed Forces”.

Recent projects

On July 19, 2020, an NH-90 helicopter of the Dutch Defence disappeared into the Caribbean Sea. The Royal Netherlands Navy, not being specialised in salvage operations in the deep sea, reached out to partners of the Maritime Capacity Alliance for assistance.

The Royal Netherlands Navy Technical Training School (KMTO) and the Maritime Capacity Alliance (MCA) are jointly recruiting students for the four-year civil-military Marine Technician (MBO4) course. This new and joint approach on recruiting personnel for the Navy, started on September 1st, 2022 with a pilot project. At the end of 2023, the program and the approach will be formalised.

Part of the technical staff of Dutch shipbuilder Royal IHC is temporarily deployed at the Maritime Systems Service (AMS) of the Dutch Defense Materiel Organisation (DMO). During and short after to the COVID-19 pandemic, IHC had overcapacity in several departments. Temporary relocation allowed the company’s employees to continue using their knowledge. For DMO, the extra capacity was used advantageously on various maritime projects – a ‘win-win’ situation.