Berlin-class replenishment ship

The Type 702 Berlin-class replenishment ship is a series of multi-product replenishment oilers, originally designed and built for service in the German Navy (Deutsche Marine). Besides the three ships built for German Navy, the design has been selected as the design for the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) as a replacement for the two Protecteur-class auxiliary oiler replenishment (AOR) vessels retired in 2014.[1]

A1411 Berlin
Class overview
Builders:
Operators:
Preceded by: Protecteur class (Canada)
In commission: 2001–
Planned: 5
Completed: 3
Active: Berlin, Frankfurt am Main, Bonn
General characteristics
Type: Replenishment oiler
Displacement: 20,240 tonnes
Length: 173.7 m (569 ft 11 in)
Beam: 24 m (78 ft 9 in)
Height: 17.5 m (57 ft 5 in)
Draft: 7.6 m (24 ft 11 in)
Propulsion:
  • 2 × MAN Diesel 12V 32/40 diesel-engines, 5,340 kW each
  • 2 × reduction gears, 2 × controllable pitch four-bladed propellers
  • 1 × bow thruster
  • 4 × 1200 kW diesel generators
Speed: 20 kn (37 km/h)
Range: 16,000 km (9,900 mi)+
Endurance: 45 days
Complement: 139 (+ 94)
Armament:
Aircraft carried: 2 × Sea King or NH90 helicopters
Aviation facilities: hangar and flight deck

German service

The Berlin-class replenishment ships are the largest vessels of the German Navy.[2] 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, provisions, ammunition and other matériel and also provide medical services. The ships are named after German cities where German parliaments were placed.

The initial requirement of the German Navy was for two ships of this class, built by Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft. A third unit was built by a consortium of several German shipyards and was launched in 2011.[3] On 13 September 2013, Bonn was commissioned into service by the German Navy at Wilhelmshaven.[4]

Royal Canadian Navy

Two ships will be procured to replace the two Protecteur-class vessels currently operated by the RCN under the Joint Support Ship Project.[5] The ships will be built by Seaspan Marine Corporation at the Vancouver Shipyards facility located in North Vancouver, British Columbia.[1] The design was chosen over a design by BMT Technology. At the time, the option for a third was still possible.[6] Canadian sailors previewed Bonn in order to make themselves familiar with the design.[7]

The ships were originally to be named Queenston and Chateauguay, for battles from the War of 1812.[8] This decision was reversed in September 2017, when it was announced that the ships would perpetuate the names Protecteur and Preserver.[9] As of 2015 it was estimated that the two Canadian ships would cost C$2.6bn (~€1.75bn) to build, and a further C$4.5bn(~€3bn) to operate over 25 years.[10]

General characteristics
MLG 27 on board Berlin

List of ships
Berlin class
Image Pennant number Name Call sign Commissioned Homeport Status
A1411BerlinDRKA11 April 2001WilhelmshavenIn active service
A1412Frankfurt am MainDRKB27 May 2002In active service
A1413Bonn[11]DRKC13 September 2013In active service

References
  1. "Backgrounder: Joint Support Ship Design". Public Works and Government Services Canada. 31 May 2013. Archived from the original on 14 May 2014. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
  2. "Berlin Class Fleet Auxiliary Vessels, Germany". naval-technology.com. Archived from the original on 20 May 2013. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
  3. "Dritter Einsatzgruppenversorger Klasse 702 ‑ Das Schiff und dessen Weiterentwicklung". MarineForum (in German) (4). 2009. Archived from the original on 2012-04-26.
  4. "Einsatzgruppenversorger „Bonn" in der Flotte angekommen". Archived from the original on 1 October 2013. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
  5. Future Canadian Amphibious Assault Ship and Joint Support Ship Archived June 9, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  6. "Feds pick off-the-shelf design for military resupply ships". CBC News. 2 June 2013. Archived from the original on 27 January 2014. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  7. "German supply ship gives navy peek at new design". CBC News. 21 February 2014. Archived from the original on 4 March 2014. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  8. "Minister Nicholson announces names for the Royal Canadian Navy's new Joint Support Ships". National Defence. 25 October 2013. Archived from the original on 14 May 2014. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  9. "War of 1812 names for Joint Support Ships are history – Protecteur and Preserver are the new names". Ottawa Citizen. 2017-09-12. Archived from the original on 2017-09-18. Retrieved 2017-09-19.
  10. Auger, Martin (15 June 2015). "The National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy: A Five-Year Assessment". Canadian Library of Parliament.
  11. "Einsatzgruppenversorger Bonn schwimmt aus" (in German). German Navy. 12 May 2011. Archived from the original on 13 January 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
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