WILLEMSTAD - The Dutch naval support ship Zr.Ms. Pelikaan has departed from Curaçao bound for Jamaica to deliver emergency aid in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, which devastated parts of the island earlier this week.

The ship set sail on Wednesday morning, making an initial stop in Barbados to collect additional relief supplies before continuing toward Jamaica, which remains in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.

The deployment was requested by the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA). According to the Commander of the Netherlands Navy in the Caribbean, the Pelikaan has been loaded with food, medical supplies, and emergency shelters from Curaçao to support the affected population.

“As a logistics support vessel equipped with a crane and a large cargo hold, Zr.Ms. Pelikaan is exceptionally suited for transporting emergency goods,” the Navy said in a press release.

“Providing humanitarian assistance is one of the three primary missions of the Dutch Defense forces in the Caribbean region.”

Hurricane Melissa, which struck Jamaica on Tuesday, was a Category 5 storm, the most powerful classification on the hurricane scale. The storm killed 19 people and destroyed large parts of the island’s infrastructure before continuing toward Haiti and Cuba, where it also caused fatalities and significant damage.

The hurricane has since weakened and is now moving over the northern Atlantic Ocean, but relief efforts continue across the region as affected communities begin the long process of recovery.

The Pelikaan’s mission underscores Curaçao’s strategic role as a regional hub for disaster response and coordination, supporting neighboring islands in times of crisis under the Dutch Kingdom’s humanitarian and defense framework.