"Bonn" task force supply ship as a baptism of fire for the Warnowwerft shipyard

This is how the navy wanted it: fast and pragmatic co-operation between arsenal operations and the fleet!

The task force provider "Bonn" left Wilhelmshaven on 15 January 2024. At the beginning of the year, the ship was supposed to be part of the NATO Very High Readiness Joint Task Force Maritime (VJTF M), i.e. deployed on the northern flank. Well, this has now turned into an unscheduled maintenance phase.

Damage to the ship's propulsion system forced the ship's command led by Commander Fregattenkapitän Deußen to reschedule this voyage. The damage was to be repaired during the mission - and as quickly as possible in a dry dock so that the ship could be made available to the convoy again. And now the time had come for the Warnowwerft shipyard in Rostock, which was acquired by the federal government in 2022, as the naval arsenal in Rostock was ultimately set up for such cases. With the gantry crane visible from afar as a landmark, the expertise of the shipyard staff has already proven itself and provided the repair capacities of the German Navy for NATO partners in the Baltic Sea, including the ad hoc repair of Italian and German warships flying the NATO flag. However, the "Bonn" is different: this is a large ship, literally the top class - and that meant a lot of preparation. Docking a task force supply ship was not previously planned - handling a ship of this size was a real challenge.

Tugs pull the supply ship into the dry dock, photo:
German Armed Forces/Jaquelin Mohit

To dock, the fuel first had to be dispensed, but where to put 5 million litres of diesel fuel? The "Spessart" fuel tanker at the Kiel naval base was quickly selected as the fuel storage facility. The ship has been in Kiel since the beginning of 2024 in preparation for decommissioning, but all the necessary systems are still operational. Before the diesel fuel and aviation fuel could be pumped from the ship, THW Schleswig-Holstein helped by providing oil booms, which were installed on the "Bonn" and the "Spessart" in order to protect the environment and waterways. The EGV then pumped the diesel fuel into the "Spessart" via a 180 metre long hose connection. The capacity of the fuel tanker was therefore a pragmatic and safe choice of storage location for the immense amount of fuel. The civilian crew of the "Spessart", who themselves had been deployed for the German Armed Forces just a few weeks ago, did not shy away from the additional time required and supported the project. With North German composure and the mission of the EGV within the NATO organisation in mind, the cooperation went smoothly.

Even if docking processes are supposedly nothing unusual, what the "Bonn" then revealed below the waterline as still belonging to the ship left even experienced crew members astonished. In relation to the size of the dock in the naval arsenal, the EGV seems somewhat lost despite its imposing size; after all, segments for cruise ships and entire oil rigs were built on the site of the former MV shipyard before the federal government purchased it. The actual reason for the immediate repair was a seal that separates the seawater from the oil in which the shaft rotates. If this seal becomes permeable due to wear, the oil and water mix and then leak into the seawater. This would have been damaging for the environment and for the shaft system; you can sail with it, but not fast - and certainly not permanently. The seals were successfully replaced. Exciting and instructive for everyone involved.

"Spessart" almost empty - "Bonn" almost full again. Pumping over on 17/02/2024 in Kiel. Photo: Michael Nitz

And what do the naval circles say? By all accounts, they are proud of this new facility and are talking and writing about a successful baptism of fire. At first it was rumoured that there had been a leak, but that was not the case. Nevertheless, docking and undocking a task force supplier is no small feat. The ship was then refuelled in Kiel at the weekend. The ship is ready to return to the organisation. The "Bonn" is eagerly awaited there.

And another thing: The naval arsenal in Rostock is called Warnowwerft. By tradition without a hyphen.