Ministerial procurement after the naval law failed

Some Dutch shipbuilding continued despite the failed naval law. The navy minister in office from 18 September 1922 to 4 August 1925 secured submarines and destroyers instead of waiting for the government to win approval for its whole program. His successes included the Admiral de Ruyter class. One reading of the plans places those eight ships outside the 12 destroyers in the rejected law, implying an intended force of about 20 ships. That interpretation reflects the need to cover both European interests and the Dutch East Indies. Limited procurement could proceed while the larger political dispute remained unresolved.