The ship was originally designed to fulfill patrol and intervention tasks against lightly armed opponents, such as pirates and smugglers.

However, it also has very advanced electronic and radar surveillance capabilities which are used for military stabilization and security roles, short of outright war.

The ship fulfilled its first task before it had actually entered service when on 15 March 2012 it returned a mirror that had been taken from Royal Charles after the Raid on the Medway.

[3] In July 2018, the crew of HNLMS Holland ended a three-month drug patrol in the Dutch Caribbean with a visit to New York.

[9] In February 2023 the Holland was used to ferry King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima and Princess of Orange Catharina-Amalia from Aruba to Curaçao during a state visit to the Dutch Caribbean.