''Spessart'' (A1442) is the second ship of the s of the

German Navy The German Navy (, ) is the navy of Germany and part of the unified ''Bundeswehr'' (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Mari ...

. She was commissioned at

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

on 5 September 1977.

Construction and career

''Spessart'' was originally built for civilian service by Kröger of

Rendsburg Rendsburg ( da, Rendsborg, also ''Rensborg'', nds, Rendsborg, also ''Rensborg'') is a town on the River Eider and the Kiel Canal in the central part of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the capital of the ''Kreis'' (district) of Rendsburg-Ecke ...

in 1974. On 5 September 1977 she was commissioned into the

, based at

, Germany. On 29 March 2009, as she was taking part in

Operation Atalanta Operation Atalanta, formally European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia, is a current counter-piracy military operation at sea off the Horn of Africa and in the Western Indian Ocean, that is the first naval operation conducted by the E ...

, ''Spessart'' was attacked by a 7-man pirate boat. In addition to the regular 40-man civilian crew, ''Spessart'' carried a 12-man security detail which exchanged small arm fire with the pirates, and repelled the assault. The intervened, along with vessels from several other navies: , , , and . The pirates were captured after a chase lasting a few hours.

Gallery

File:800700 V 04 A1442 FGS Spessart Grosse Syrte 01.jpg, ''Spessart'' alongside to replenish on 31 July 1980 File:800700 V 04 A1442 FGS Spessart Grosse Syrte 02.jpg, ''Spessart'' alongside to replenish ''Lütjens'' on 31 July 1980 File:Spessart (A 1442) entering New York Harbor.jpg, ''Spessart'' entering

New York Harbor New York Harbor is at the mouth of the Hudson River where it empties into New York Bay near the East River tidal estuary, and then into the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of the United States. It is one of the largest natural harbors in t ...

on 13 October 2004 File:SPESSART 4114.JPG, ''Spessart'' at the deperming range in

Wilhelmshaven Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmsha ...

on 20 January 2016 File:ROYAL NAVY PHOTOGRAPHERS RECOGNISED FOR PICTURE PERFECT SHOTS MOD 45162863.jpg, , ''Spessart'' and replenishing on 26 January 2017 File:7362079 Spessart 1975.jpg, ''Spessart'' underway on 18 February 2019

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spessart 1975 ships Rhön-class tankers Piracy in Somalia Ships built in Rendsburg Tankers of Germany