[1] The ship is named after Dutch naval officer Karel Doorman who was killed in action in World War II during the Battle of the Java Sea.

She has an elevator and crane for up to 40 tons, a roll on/roll off facility for vehicles, and a steel beach stern construction for accommodating cargo transfer via landing craft.

Two Goalkeeper CIWS systems protect the ship against incoming missiles and aircraft at short range, while two Oto Melara Marlin WS 30 mm rapid cannons provide force-protection against small surface targets such as high speed boats.

All sensor systems are housed in an integrated mast, provided by Thales Nederland, called the I-Mast 400, comprising a SeaMaster 400 SMILE air warning radar, a SeaWatcher 100 active phased-array surface detection and tracking radar and the GateKeeper infra-red/electro-optical (EO) warning system.

Major changes that are expected include the replacement of the Goalkeeper CIWS with RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile and 76 mm Sovraponte gun from Leonardo OTO.

[12] Even though Karel Doorman had just finished sea trials and had not yet been commissioned, on 6 November she was sent on a three-month deployment to West Africa to deliver aid to Ebola-struck countries.

[citation needed] On 24 April 2015 Karel Doorman was formally commissioned and hence forward used the prefix HNLMS and given the pennant A833.

[15][16] In late 2017 Karel Doorman was sent to the Caribbean Sea for humanitarian aid after the region was struck by Hurricane Irma.

[19][20] Besides providing support, the ship also performed maritime border surveillance in the Caribbean Sea together with HNLMS Zeeland.

The tasking was delayed in early May as issues arose with the Goalkeeper CIWS, causing the ship to return to Crete Naval Base for repairs until setting sail for the area of operations on 10 May.

[29][30] In January 2023 it was announced that the Irish Naval Service is evaluating the possible acquisition of a down-sized version of Karel Doorman for their Multi-role vessel program.