From the ships speakers a Danish radio program cuts trough the sharp smell of grey paint. Some of the sailors are painting the large ships hull while others are guarding the gangway. There is a lot of activity on the quay.

Besætningsmedlemmer bruger  ventetiden på vedligeholdelse af  skibet.

The ship arrived in Frederikshavn Tuesday morning doe to some technical problems and the involuntary break is used to do some of the work, which always has to be done on a ship with the size of VAN GALEN. 

The ships engineers are looking into what repairs are needed to continue on the exercise, but according to the supply officer, Lieutenant Commander R. van den Barselaar, it is still too early to comment on the ships condition. He hopes to join the exercise this evening.

NATO-visit in Aalborg
VAN GALEN is participating in DANEX 06 as a part of Standing Nato response force Maritime Group 1 (SNMG 1). During the weekend the ship was in Aalborg with the rest of the DANEX 06 NATO force. In Aalborg the ship was opened to the public, and according to lieutenant commander R. van den Barselaar that was a good experience.

Standing NATO Response Force Maritime Group 1 Facts: Commander: Commodore J.A.D. ROULEAU, Canada. January 1. 2006 Standing NATO Responce Force Maritime Group 1 replaced Standing Naval Force Atlantic. During DANEX 06 SNMG 1 consist of following units: - HMCS IROQOUIS - Canada - USS BOONE - USA - FGS AUGSBURG - Germany - HNLMS VAN GALEN – The    Netherlands

- Aalborg is a great city, and it was fun to show the Danes our ship. Sunday almost 200 visitors came aboard and they were all very interested in who we are. What we do and what we are doing here in Denmark, lieutenant commander R. van den Barselaar explains. He is looking very much forward to being able to leave Frederikshavn and to get back in the exercise. Especially the Non-combatant Evacuation Operation exercise (NEO), Sunday, fills him with anticipation.

- NEO is something that the entire crew looks forward to because it holds many different elements, and involves a large part of the crewmembers. Evacuation operations are likely to become a bigger part of our job in the future, so it is very important that we a good at it, the Dutch officer explains.

As soon as possible the KAREEL DOORMAN-class frigate will join SNMG 1 to train surface warfare in the northern part of Kattegat.

KAREEL DOORMAN-class facts:
Length: 122,3 meter
With: 14,4 meter
Draught: 6,2 meter
Crewmembers: 154