Category: Shipping

The Lübeck spirit

Once again, the crew of the frigate Lübeck gave their all for their ship. But the final end is approaching. After 32 years, the Lübeck will soon be decommissioned. She is the last ship of the 122 class, and this also marks the end of an era for the German Navy. Even if all ships of a class look (almost) the same on the outside, each has its own character. As they say in the Royal Navy: same but different. But what characterises the "Lucky Lübeck" and her crew? Particularly since the frigate Augsburg was decommissioned in 2019, the...

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"Powerhouse" for ship recycling

German Naval Yards in Kiel and the Cuxhaven-based start-up Leviathan have signed a letter of intent to establish a "powerhouse" for environmentally friendly ship recycling. The aim is to join forces in order to become the "engine of green ship recycling in Europe." The pioneering technology developed by Leviathan can now be offered to shipping companies for the demolition of ships in the large dock of the Kiel shipyard, supported by the existing infrastructure and the excellent labour force of the naval shipyard. The use of cold water technology will make the world's first sustainable and virtually emission-free ship recycling possible. The functioning of the concept was recently honoured with a...

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5000-tonne heavy-duty crane has passed the test

The 5000-tonne heavy-duty crane built by crane manufacturer Liebherr in Rostock and mounted on the special ship "Orion" has proven itself for the first time during the installation of the largest monopiles ever produced in Europe at the German wind farm Arcadis Ost 1 and the lifting of a transformer platform at the French wind farm Fécamp. The "Orion" was first used at the Arcadis Ost 1 wind farm for the installation of 28 wind turbine foundations. There, monopiles up to 110 metres long and weighing up to 2,100 tonnes had to be positioned on the bottom of the Baltic Sea. This was followed by the deployment at the Fècamp wind farm, where the...

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Sea sick

Only a few countries have hospital ships, despite the great advantages. A possibility for Germany? The Helgoland's deployment in Vietnam ended 50 years ago. From 1966 to 1972, as a hospital ship in the Vietnam War, it was the German response to the American request for military assistance. The German government had the seaside resort ship converted into a hospital ship with 150 hospital beds. The German Red Cross took over the sponsorship. The Helgoland's first mission took it to Saigon, after which it was transferred to Da Nang in the north. At that time, the important US Army base with its 350,000 inhabitants had just 500 hospital beds...

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Full steam ahead into retirement

In her last two years of service, the frigate LÜBECK performed remarkably well. The men and women on board accepted considerable restrictions in order to take part in the NATO support mission. In January 2022, the frigate LÜBECK departed for the border area between Greece and Turkey as part of Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG 2) to participate in the NATO Assistance Aegean (NAA) mission in the Aegean Sea, having already been deployed from May to September of the previous year. Since then, it has contributed to situational awareness and the exchange of information in dealing with the migration crisis. Overall, the LÜBECK was in the...

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