German Navy

[kato]

Transfer and naming of the ship is planned for June.
Going by the left picture the ship will be named Y898 Kalkgrund.

Kalkgrund was transferred and christened on June 30th.

A bit interestingly for AUV and diver deployment the two ships apparently have a moonpool according to Fassmer.

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The German Federal Ministry of the Interior stealthily ordered a fourth Potsdam class OPV earlier this year. The official market designation seems to be "OPV 86 BP" btw (BP for Bundespolizei, Federal Police). The money for the ship presumably comes from the Corona Package - the first three were similarly bought from a stimulus package.

BP84 Neustadt, The fourth Federal Police "Potsdam" class OPV, was transferred and christened June 10th this year.

Unlike her sister ships in her case the 57mm gun and .50cal MGs apparently were already installed at this point. The Federal Police also seems to still hope for two more ships of the class to completely renew their OPV fleet, there have been mentions of this for the occasion.

The ship yesterday escorted a Russian surface taskgroup centered on the Udaloy class missile destroyer Severomorsk through German waters.

 

[kato]

P.S.: The ship will apparently be renamed Rügen - for Germany's largest island.

Rügen, the former Rota Endurance, was commissioned in the Navy August 23rd in Kiel.

Unlike her predecessors she'll apparently be homeported in Wilhelmshaven on the North Sea instead of the Baltic Sea.

 

[kato]

Federal Waterways Authority WSV has ordered five new larger riverine vessels to replace river buoy tenders on the Lower Rhine.

The 33m long ships will be based on prototype ship Emmerich and built by the same shipyard (Bolle), although with slightly modified diesel-electric propulsion. Cost will be about the same at 5.4 million Euro per ship. First delivery is planned for 2024.

Emmerich and her new sisterships are a class of multipurpose vessels built in a landing craft style with a large forward deck and a bow ramp for vehicles up to 12 tons weight, but also a builtin workshop and a crane for buoy lifting. Unlike smaller buoy boats run from stations these vessels also have full accomodation for their crew.

Main duties of these ships are in tending buoys and other aids-to-navigation (e.g. radar beacons) within their AoR, removing hazards to shipping and assisting in construction, including on otherwise inaccessible shore parts or river islands. The ships also have a river police duty, as well as emergency assistance.

The ships - Emmerich and the five new ones - replace four similar-designed 25m long ships built in the early 90s as well as two older 27m decidated buoy tenders without bow ramps (built 1965 and 1988). Three further vessels of that standardized 25m multi-purpose class remain in service with WSV in other districts, two of which were procured only 15 years ago from Fassmer (called MPV25 there). Compared to that 25m standard class the new vessels have a significantly larger forward workdeck and slightly enlarged workshop space.

Flyaround of Emmerich upon her delivery in 2020:

Regarding propulsion changes vs Emmerich, the diesel genset on the new vessels will apparently be augmented with a 100 kWh battery set that will allow the ships to run shorter distances (e.g. when passing through urban areas) without starting the diesels, i.e. on batteries only. Emmerich, in comparison to older vessels, already switched to diesel-electric propulsion as well as using low-emission synthetic fuel.

 

[John Fedup]

Federal Waterways Authority WSV has ordered five new larger riverine vessels to replace river buoy tenders on the Lower Rhine.

The 33m long ships will be based on prototype ship Emmerich and built by the same shipyard (Bolle), although with slightly modified diesel-electric propulsion. Cost will be about the same at 5.4 million Euro per ship. First delivery is planned for 2024.

Emmerich and her new sisterships are a class of multipurpose vessels built in a landing craft style with a large forward deck and a bow ramp for vehicles up to 12 tons weight, but also a builtin workshop and a crane for buoy lifting. Unlike smaller buoy boats run from stations these vessels also have full accomodation for their crew.

Main duties of these ships are in tending buoys and other aids-to-navigation (e.g. radar beacons) within their AoR, removing hazards to shipping and assisting in construction, including on otherwise inaccessible shore parts or river islands. The ships also have a river police duty, as well as emergency assistance.

The ships - Emmerich and the five new ones - replace four similar-designed 25m long ships built in the early 90s as well as two older 27m decidated buoy tenders without bow ramps (built 1965 and 1988). Three further vessels of that standardized 25m multi-purpose class remain in service with WSV in other districts, two of which were procured only 15 years ago from Fassmer (called MPV25 there). Compared to that 25m standard class the new vessels have a significantly larger forward workdeck and slightly enlarged workshop space.

Flyaround of Emmerich upon her delivery in 2020:

Regarding propulsion changes vs Emmerich, the diesel genset on the new vessels will apparently be augmented with a 100 kWh battery set that will allow the ships to run shorter distances (e.g. when passing through urban areas) without starting the diesels, i.e. on batteries only. Emmerich, in comparison to older vessels, already switched to diesel-electric propulsion as well as using low-emission synthetic fuel.

Tight fit going into the lock, great helmsman!

 

[kato]

P.S.: At one point in the video they're talking about it being able to carry "Unimogs".

They're not referring to the old military 2-ton trucks there, but instead the more compact civilian U405 4x4 series that WSA Köln - the operator of the new ships - has several of as general recovery/engineering vehicles. These have the external dimensions of a car, weigh around 11 tons fully loaded and come with a front shovel, rear crane, winch and some cargo capacity.

Edit: Emmerich landing one of these vehicles, in this case an U300 series configured slightly differently:


Image: Wasser- und Schiffahrtsverwaltung (WSV)

 

[kato]

The first of the three new large multi-purpose ships for WSV was launched July 15th in Klaipeda, Lithuania:


Image: Abeking & Rasmussen

For the launch the ponton shown here was ballasted to the rear and the ship slowly launched into the water. It's sitting on rails on there.

The ship - Scharhörn - was moved to Germany afterwards and arrived at A&R's Lemwerder shipyard August 10th for final outfitting. On the way she met her predecessor assigned to the Coastguard - the current Scharhörn - in the Kadetrinne sea area on the German-Danish sea border (see image below).

Somehow the ship class has grown again and according to WSV is now 105m long and 20m wide with a maximum draft of 6.1m.


Image: Wasser- und Schiffahrtsverwaltung (WSV)

 

[kato]

Also the E-Spatz electric-propulsion station boat for WSV was delivered last week:


Image: Wasser- und Schiffahrtsverwaltung (WSV)

The new boat is "Mülheim" on the right. The boat on the left, "Altenrheine", is an older Spatz class vessel that she met during the transfer. Close to her new home she also met "Münster", one of the older Spatz class vessels in service (built 1996 as 25th of her class, and the oldest assigned to the same district).

For the transfer they moved "Mülheim" from one WSV yard to the next over a total of 500 km through rivers and canals, reloading her batteries at each stop. It's not quite visible in this picture, but the boat also has flat solar panels mounted on the roof.

In total WSV now operates 130 Spatz class boats as virtually the default station boat at its stations along rivers in Germany. Spatz vessels are configured dependent on what a local district needs, "Mülheim" is configured for general duty and for surveying, with extra operator space for the survey equipment.

"Mülheim" is considered a prototype for possible future outfitting of further vessels, with a potential of up to another 100 to be built. The most recent Spatz type boat with conventional propulsion, "Sigma", was commissioned with WSV in late June as a dedicated survey boat on the Danube.

 

[Sandhi Yudha]

Also the E-Spatz electric-propulsion station boat for WSV was delivered last week:

View attachment 50786
Image: Wasser- und Schiffahrtsverwaltung (WSV)

The new boat is "Mülheim" on the right. The boat on the left, "Altenrheine", is an older Spatz class vessel that she met during the transfer. Close to her new home she also met "Münster", one of the older Spatz class vessels in service (built 1996 as 25th of her class, and the oldest assigned to the same district).

For the transfer they moved "Mülheim" from one WSV yard to the next over a total of 500 km through rivers and canals, reloading her batteries at each stop. It's not quite visible in this picture, but the boat also has flat solar panels mounted on the roof.

In total WSV now operates 130 Spatz class boats as virtually the default station boat at its stations along rivers in Germany. Spatz vessels are configured dependent on what a local district needs, "Mülheim" is configured for general duty and for surveying, with extra operator space for the survey equipment.

"Mülheim" is considered a prototype for possible future outfitting of further vessels, with a potential of up to another 100 to be built. The most recent Spatz type boat with conventional propulsion, "Sigma", was commissioned with WSV in late June as a dedicated survey boat on the Danube.

|"reloading her batteries at each stop."|
That doesn't sound very practical.
What is the maximum range of these electric boats?

 

[kato]

|"reloading her batteries at each stop."|
That doesn't sound very practical.
What is the maximum range of these electric boats?

Range is minimum 100 km while pushing a 20-ton barge at 9 knots, or minimum 35 km while pushing a 100-ton barge at 6.5 knots.

These tonnages stated are for payload - the boat with the smaller barge has a combined displacement of around 80 tons, with the larger barge of around 200 tons (solo: 50.5 tons displacement). Regular operations are with the smaller barge type for e.g. buoy tending (75% of time) or solo for survey or patrol (25% of time). The requirement for the larger barge is primarily to enable them to push construction material for coffer dams to a nearby lock in emergencies.

The Spatz vessels serve as the default single boat (one each) for WSV stations for any general duty. The WSV stations each have an assigned district, i.e. a length of river that is their area of responsibility.

Throughout the river network this averages to about 30-50 km distance from the station itself. WSV additionally operates construction yards with more extensive ship facilities spaced about 100-150 km apart in the network. Requirements were therefore for 100 km range (in a 8- to 9-hour shift) - the boat goes out in the morning, can do some job at the maximum end of its AoR up to 50 km away and can return to the station in the evening. It can then be recharged overnight.


In the WSV area that "Mülheim" has been assigned to - the "West-German Canals" - WSV has a prototype installation for recharging stations at all 21 quays that they operate for the general public there though. "Mülheim" can therefore be recharged at any of these, so she's not necessarily required to return to the station overnight. This was a stated requirement as well, in case she's needed for policing duties "on-station" for multiple days in a place away from the station.

 

[kato]

Just checked, "Mülheim" is assigned to subregion Duisburg-Meiderich. Its assigned area includes 18.2 km length of the Rhein-Herne Canal and 12.1 km length of the Ruhr river (from their parallel confluence in the Rhine in Duisburg up to west of Essen/Bottrop along the canal and to the city of Mülheim along the river respectively).

The WSV station for this area itself is located about 6 km upriver along the canal, the responsible WSV "yard" (for repairs etc) is in neighboring Herne subregion 32 km away along the canal. Currently the subregion has the Spatz class vessel "Lirich" built in 1999 assigned to it for local duties.

The area is somewhat small but fairly important as it basically includes Duisburg port (the self-proclaimed largest inland port worldwide, and supposedly the 36th-largest port globally) and its immediate eastern "exit route" towards where ships can continue on the canal towards ultimately the Weser river and then the North Sea.

Within this AoR WSV operates four fairly major locks and one security gate (for locking down waterflow from the canal into the Ruhr). In addition WSV also has about 40 bridges across the river and canal to regularly inspect as well.

 

[kato]

NVL has presented a proposal for the Type 404 Elbe class tender successor (MUsE project) that they call "NTV130" based on what they assume could be the Navy requirements.

Link for image, not embedding due to unclear copyright:

Mehr als nur Tender - marineforum

In weniger als zehn Jahren sollen die Tender der Klasse 404 ersetzt werden. Die Marine möchte weitere Aufgaben übernehmen.

marineforum.online

The presented proposal is for a ship with:

• dedicated logistics functionality for corvettes (two RAS booms) with stores aligned to the purposes (2100 m³ diesel, 130 m³ avgas, 160 m³ fresh water).
• dedicated logistics functionality for smaller vessels (bollards for tieing up smaller vessels on the side) with containerized workshops and room for squadron staff.
• aviation support with a flight deck supporting up to CH-47F, with a hangar for NH90.
• some sort of - not further described - stern launch capability (probably similar to Absalon steel beach)
• non-descript defensive armament (RAM launcher in illustration)
• hull form, while fairly heavy/large box factor (7600 tons displacement), is designed for relative high speed (up to 22 kn) with wave-piercing bow
• accomodation of up to 90 people in addition to crew (which is also larger at 95 instead of current 72 btw).

The last time Navy requirements were published was in 2021 before the project entered the phase to design the functional requirements. Back then the rough requirements were "around 10,000 tons displacement", "2400 m³ diesel carried with RAS", "crew of max 70 + 70 accomodation", medium speed (18 knots) and some other detail variations regarding helicopter fuel, fresh water etc.

The requirements were likely defined a bit differently since then, so the above NVL proposal may fit current requirements. The project overall is in analysis phase 2. For this, a tender for a reference design was published late last year - the winner (and sole bidder) for this contract is not public, but based on what little data is not classified is not NVL. is the Technical University of Hamburg (and the tender was limited to them) - not NVL.

What the Navy is looking for in MUsE is a ship that:

• replaces current tenders as squadron command, supply and support ships for MCM ships, corvettes and submarines
• is able to accomodate supplying a single larger ship (frigate) on a longer deployment
• can be deployed solo for patrol or humanitarian assistance like current tenders

The onboard storage requirements, primarily diesel, are centered around the first two points and unlikely to be changed much (basically for the second item the ship needs one-quarter the capacity of a Berlin class AOR, period).

For some scale, NVL's NTV130 as presented is basically the Italian Navy's Stromboli class small AOR from the late 70s with straightforward all stores cut in half to accomodate more people and the workshops, and that placed on a speed-oriented hull form.

In presentations on the project Navy officials additionally mention possible functions in hosting command staff, transport, amphibious use, for transport of wounded (hospital ship) or as a reconnaissance platform. They also see these ships as core elements within taskgroups consisting of manned-unmanned teaming, i.e. as possible control ships for unmanned maritime platforms (which do feature fairly heavily in Navy planning).

The Navy has a stated requirement for six (!) such ships.

 

[kato]

The first of the three new large multi-purpose ships for WSV was launched July 15th in Klaipeda, Lithuania:

Lloyd's Register has formally certified the ships for unrestricted operations with liquefied synthetic methane (LSM) - as apparently the first ships with such certification worldwide.

There are a few commercial ships that have been modified for LSM, but so far for trials these only tend to mix in smaller amounts of LSM (20-25%) into a majority-LNG fuel cycle, i.e. it's not considered a fully viable fuel solution yet. The WSV ships will initially run on LNG, but are laid out to switch to synthetic fuel at a later point.

Part of the modifications that were required for the certification was apparently that all fuel lines and tanks on the ships are double-walled to prevent "methane slip", which has always been a major (economic) problem with the efficiency of gas-powered engines.

 

[kato]

The Bundestag has passed funding for "LR-AUV" for 52.5 million Euro. Initially four systems will be procured with an option for a fifth. LR-AUV is an underwater reconnaissance drone to be used from Frankenthal class carrier ships. The contract includes the new modifications to five ships.

It is a bit unclear from the press release which five ships exactly are to be modified. The Frankenthal class currently has three subclasses:

• two MJ332B class vessels used for mine diver training.
• three MJ332C class vessels used as drone control vessels for Seehund class large USVs.
• five MJ332CL class vessels used as minehunters which are currently (2022-2025) in an upgrade programme.

It is rather possible that the five MJ332B and MJ332C vessels are to be modified. This would mean they are basically "hiding" the IMCMS upgrade - that the five MJ332CL are currently receiving - in this contract for the rest of the ships. The project cost sounds rather like it too. Delivery of the drone systems itself is planned for 2024-2025 under the contract.

Originally - ten years ago - it was planned to use the three MJ332C vessels for this. The fourth system funded is likely for training (from the two MJ332B, so both "need" to be modified), the option for a fifth would be to have enough to actually reuse the training vessels in an active role.

LR-AUV is a fairly old project now, originally started in 2010. The drones, despite their usage from minehunters, are intended as pure reconnaissance systems. Requirements ten years ago called for 300m operational depth (that's also in the press release now) with an endurance of 24 hours at 4 knots speed and a searched area coverage of >0.63 nm²/hour.

 

[kato]

The former F122 class frigates F208 Niedersachsen and F210 Emden are now up for sale through the Federal Government's VEBEG auction platform.

F208 Niedersachsen was towed out of Navy Arsenal Wilhelmshaven this week and is on her way to the scrapper in Turkey that bought her.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1721866515287253332

 

[kato]

The "RHIB 1010 Successor" is the first project from the Special 100 Billion Fund being realized - due to its rather small size.
[...]
Contract is for 9 units with an option for further 12 units.

That contract was cancelled in April this year. Reason is that the supplier chosen for the contract (Boomeranger) could not provide boats that conformed to the speed requirements stipulated in the contract - as in, despite claiming so they were unable to adapt their off-the-shelf product to the (higher) speed requirement.

The contract was re-tendered in August this year (and bidding closed this week). It's now a framework contract running 7 years for delivery of up to 26 boats plus modular ballistic armor kits, various transport and storage gear and crew training.

 

[kato]

It's odd, but this is exactly the kind of vessel I've been advocating that the Royal New Zealand Navy buy for about 10 years now - a nice simple low-cost multi-purpose 'odd-job' type, that can carry a container or two of equipment on the back.

The second SVK vessel, "Kalkgrund", was delivered by Fassmer and commissioned earlier this month.

The WTD71 commander for the occasion mentioned in a speech that - refering to the planned future plans of the Navy - he primarily sees the two SVK vessels as having "a large role" in research of unmanned systems.

---

Fassmer also got a contract beginning of this month to build a new fisheries research vessel for BLE - the Federal Agency for Agriculture. BLE operates three fisheries research ships and three fisheries patrol vessels, with the three patrol vessels under OPCOM of the German Coastguard. The three fisheries research vessels operate in the standardized livery of the federal research flotilla, the new vessel will replace the largest of them in 2027.

The contract for the ship was originally signed with Damen in 2017 (and was planned to be delivered this year), but was dissolved in 2021 over "controversies". Part of that was probably that by that point projected cost had climbed from 85 million to 175 million Euro. The new construction by Fassmer will come in at 240 million Euro, there are some "technological modernizations" compared to what Damen was supposed to build.

The design of the ship is - unchanged from the Damen contract - a modified, slightly enlarged version ("ST-369L") of the ST-369 design by Skipsteksnik A/S in Norway, to which the Norwegian fisheries research vessel "Dr. Fridtjof Nansen" was built in 2017. The German ship will be 85m long with a larger reconfigurable aft workdeck that will also carry laboratory and storage containers; accomodation is for exactly twice as many as on SVK.

 

[kato]

The Naval Command has published its Annual Report 2023.

Jahresbericht des Marinekommandos 2023

Die Marine hat ihren Jahresbericht 2023 zur maritimen Abhängigkeit Deutschlands am 21. November veröffentlicht.

www.bundeswehr.de

A grand total of 14 pages of the 202-page document concern the Navy. Not unsual in size compared to previous years, but perhaps worth mentioning in general. As in if you're in it for the Navy don't bother downloading and translating etc. The rest is maritime security in general (40 pages), domestic maritime security management, i.e. the coastguard and its contributing agencies (50 pages) and statistics on trade, merchant fleet and shipyard activity (84 pages) and 14 pages are general fluff.

However, fairly hidden in these annual reports are always interesting tidbits especially on projects that aren't released otherwise. This year it's this:

• Project SAMSe - Maritime Training Navy and Sea Trials WTD71
  • project has been revised from original plans; original plans called for six ships, 65m long, to be built to jointly replace large tugs used for training in Navy and multipurpose trials boats in weapons research agency WTD71
  • new plans are for :
    • 2 SAMSE for WTD71
    • 2 SAMSE (modified) for Navy
    • 2 SAMSE (reduced) for Navy
  • SAMSE (WTD) and SAMSE (mod) will be four maximum 65m-long vessels with 6600 nm range, core crew of 20, ice class E *). The platform for both vessel types is planned to be the same, and is planned to be modified from an existing off-the-shelf utility vessel design. Options looked at as examples are apparently "Fassmer SSV 65" **) and "DAMEN Utility Vessel 6516".
    • SAMSE (WTD) will have additional accomodation for 12 men, onboard laboratories, cranes and an "equipment shaft"
    • SAMSE (mod.) will instead have accomodation for 31 cadets, light cranes and equipment for diver training
  • SAMSE (red.) is planned to instead be a slightly modified second batch of SVK vessels, i.e. expanding SVK to four ships. 50m length, range of 2900 nm at 12 knots, no ice class, core crew of 15 plus 14 additional accomodation (SVK is 15+8, so they probably have some labs or workshops they'd have to rearrange).
    • These vessels are primarily intended for the Survival at Sea training performed at Naval Operations School Bremerhaven and cadet training at Navy School Mürwik.
    • Part of the decision seems to have been in infrastructure investment - due to smaller size and less draft the SVK vessels fit into the existing infrastructure at these secondary sites.

*) "Baltic" Ice Class E (definition by German Lloyd classification agency) is 15cm of ice, i.e. the minimum ice-hardening. The Scandinavian equivalent is ice class II.
**) Fassmer SSV 65 is precisely the Fugro 65m design i've mentioned before with regard to a larger SVK variant.

Otherwise nothing really new in there. Lots of statistics. Projects-wise it's hinted that DGzRS (the SAR agency) seems to be planning a derivative new batch of their more recent 28m SAR cruiser class that they've been building since 2015 (six ships in service). Probably to replace the 27.5m and 23.1m classes built in the early to mid 90s (also six ships in service).

 

[kato]

The "Navy Arsenal Warnowwerft" was formally inaugurated in Rostock yesterday:

The southern half of the former shipyard was also bought by the Federal Government at the time.

This southern half will now be rented out to an investment consortium in a contract effective from 2024 to 2040 based on a memorandum signed last month.

The consortium, led by Meyer Group (which own the neighboring Neptun Shipyard), plans to build offshore energy converter stations there. The memorandum includes planned certain safety arrangements mandatory for the factory - to ensure safety for the arsenal - and also includes quite wide-ranging access rights for the Bundeswehr both for exercises and for mobilization, especially unrestricted access to the quay along the factory area. When mobilized the area is planned to become a "NATO Deployment Hub", i.e. a logistics hub for sea transfers of material; there will be some infrastructure investment by the Bundeswehr for this purpose as well.

The ministry of defense managed to block this co-use for quite a while - over a year - due to security concerns actually.

 

[kato]

Construction of the first F126 frigate officially started today in Wolgast at Peene-Werft owned by NVL. The ship is planned to be handed over to the Bundeswehr in 2028.

The shipyard at Wolgast will construct the rear section of the ship while the front section will be built at German Naval Yards in Kiel. Front and back are mated in Kiel and then shipped to Blohm+Voss in Hamburg for final outfitting.

 

[kato]

F124 Frigate Sachsen, currently in maintenance, had her new VLS physically installed last week - by the Navy Arsenal itself, not a contractor.

Functional tests are planned for when the frigate comes out of the yard in early 2024.