Navy captain Hans Lodder and former lifeboat skipper Anne Ruijg have both received a De Ruyter medal from Infrastructure Minister Melanie Schultz van Haegen.

Captain Lodder received the medal for his part in Operation Atalanta in the Gulf of Aden and the Somali Basin on the Dutch ship HNLMS Tromp from February to April in 2010.

HNLMS Tromp tracked down and disarmed 83 pirates. The ship's crew also managed to free a German merchant ship from pirates.

Mr Ruijg was awarded the De Ruyter medal for saving 2200 sailors, water sports enthusiasts, islanders and tourists on the northern Dutch island of Terschelling in the Wadden Sea during his career as lifeboat skipper.

The medal is named after Dutch sea hero Michiel de Ruyter, who besides fighting the English, himself combated piracy in the Mediterranean. Since 1907, the medal has been awarded 202 times for great commitment to shipping.

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