Overview
- A Dutch outlet slipped a €5–10 Bluetooth tracker into an envelope sent through the military post to the frigate HNLMS Evertsen, which is escorting France’s carrier Charles de Gaulle.
- The device reached the ship because envelopes were not X‑rayed, allowing journalists to follow its path from Den Helder via Eindhoven to Heraklion in Crete and then toward Cyprus.
- The tracker went offline near Cyprus after it was found, and reporters said they could not tell if the frigate was operating beside the carrier at that moment.
- The Netherlands Ministry of Defence called it an incident, said the tracking did not pose an operational risk, banned battery-powered greeting cards to the ship, and ordered a review of mail security rules.
- The episode follows a recent Strava-based identification of a French sailor and underscores how cheap consumer tech and routine logistics can erode naval operational security.