The fuel tanker "Rhön" returns to Wilhelmshaven

On Sunday, 31 August 2025 at 10:00 a.m., the fuel tanker "Rhön" will enter its home port of Wilhelmshaven. As a floating refuelling station in the NATO Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG 1), the "Rhön" has ensured the supply of fuel for the participating NATO partners. "The past deployment in SNMG 1 demanded a lot from the crew. However, intensive preparation for the mission and the experience gained from previous deployments meant that the integration phase into the task force was only short," says Captain Egon Rhauderwiek. "That's why I look back with pride and admiration on the crew's tremendous commitment and achievements during the more than five and a half months of deployment," summarises the captain of the "Rhön". During the mission, the civilian-crewed ship travelled beyond the Arctic Circle in the Barents Sea to Bear Island (near the border of the Norwegian Sea). Travelling the Denmark Strait between Greenland and Iceland as far as the Greenland ice edge was also a highlight for the ship and crew. The "Rhön" arrived with a crew of 34 and travelled 26,184 nautical miles (approx. 42,107 km).