The German Navy's two ageing Type 704 tankers Spessart (pictured) and Rhön have been in service since 1974 and are fast approaching the end of their service lives. (Michael Nitz – Naval Press Service)
A steel-cutting ceremony for the first of two new Type 707 fleet replenishment tankers for the German Navy was staged at Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, on 29 June.
The two ships are being built under the lead management of prime contractor NVL Group (formerly Lürssen Werft) in co-operation with Meyer Werft under a contract signed in 2021.
The two ships will be built at Meyer Werft Neptun shipyard in Rostock, while NVL Group will be responsible for the project management, the naval-specific parts of the platform, and the provision of services to establish supply readiness, which will ensure that the vessels operate well within the logistic system of the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr).
Displacing 20,000 tonnes at full load and with an overall length of 173 m, the supply vessels will carry a crew complement of 42 with accommodation for an additional 23 personnel. They will have a cargo tank capacity of 12,000 m3 plus space for 10 20 ft equivalent unit (TEU) containers. The tankers will be capable of replenishing two ships simultaneously.
The new vessels are planned to enter service by 2025 and are expected to remain in service until the 2050s.
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