''Berlin'' (A1411) is the
lead ship of the s of the
German Navy. The vessel was constructed by
Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft in
Hamburg, Germany and
launched on 30 April 1999. ''Berlin'' was
commissioned on 11 April 2001 and remains in service. The ship is primarily used to replenish stores and supplies of German overseas fleets.
Development
The ''Berlin''-class replenishment ships are the largest vessels of the
German Navy.
In
German, this type of ship is called ''Einsatzgruppenversorger'' which can be translated as "task force supplier" though the official translation in English is "combat support ship".
They are intended to support German naval units away from their home ports. The ships carry
fuel
A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chemical energy but ...
,
provisions,
ammunition
Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...
and other
matériel
Materiel (; ) refers to supplies, equipment, and weapons in military supply-chain management, and typically supplies and equipment in a commercial supply chain context.
In a military context, the term ''materiel'' refers either to the specific ...
and also provide medical services. The ships are named after German cities where German parliaments were placed.
Construction and career
''Berlin'' was
launched on 30 April 1999 in
Hamburg, Germany. She was
commissioned on 11 April 2001.
In 2016, an overloaded boat sank in the night of between 18 and 19 April, costing the lives of up to 800 migrants. The
European Council
The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body that defines the overall political direction and priorities of the European Union. It is composed of the heads of state or government of the EU member states, the President of the E ...
decision and a parliamentary green light, the German Navy dispatched the
frigate
A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat.
The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...
and ''Berlin'' to provide a presence
north of Libyan territorial waters. Both ships were operating off the
Horn of Africa
The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...
to provide the German Navy with an operational reserve. ''Hessen'' and ''Berlin'' joined many other European Union vessels, which ranged from warships to auxiliary and coast guard ships to form
EU NAVFOR MEDL.
The conducted a boarding exercise aboard ''Berlin'' during
Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) 2019.
On 2 April 2020, ''Berlin'' set off to the
Aegean Sea from
Wilhelmshaven with to join
Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG 2).
Gallery
File:Navy supply vessel "Berlin".jpg, ''Berlin'' at a Wilhelmshaven in 2007.
File:MLG auf EGV.JPG, MLG-27 aboard ''Berlin'' on 3 March 2008.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berlin (A1411)
Berlin-class replenishment ships
1999 ships
Ships built in Hamburg