Stahlbau Nord, a member of the Rönner Group, has completed the first frigate for the Egyptian Navy.

Now it's time for test drives in the North Sea.

One day later than originally planned, the "Al Aziz", the first of three Egyptian frigates from Stahlbau-Nord (SBN), has set sail for its first sea trials in the North Sea. According to current information, the sea trials of the frigate with the military identification 904 will probably last until next weekend. Stahlbau Nord is part of the Bremerhaven-based Rönner Group. The company was subcontracted by the Kiel shipyard TKMS to build the three Meko 200 frigates. The newbuildings for the Egyptian Navy are almost 121 metres long, 17 metres wide and have a displacement of 3,400 tonnes. The "Al Aziz" has now been handed over to TKMS. The official handover to the Egyptian customer will take place later at the Kiel shipyard.

Al Azis on her first test drive, photos: Wolfhard Scheer

During the test voyage, which will last several days, the technical systems and gensets will be put through their paces, whereby only the diesel drive of the four MTU main engines will be used on this voyage and not the switchable gas turbine drive. A speed of 15 knots was initially travelled on the Lower Weser. When the two General Electric gas turbines with an output of 45,000 kW are switched on at a later date, the frigate will then reach top speeds of up to 31 knots.

Al Azis on her first test drive, photos. Wolfhard Scheer

The second identical frigate has been lying off the Labrador pier in Bremerhaven for outfitting since last summer and will probably be delivered in the second half of the year. Number three of the order is currently still in the Lunehalle, but should be largely completed in terms of shipbuilding. A double christening of the two newbuildings is then planned in Bremerhaven in May. The Meko concept of the Kiel shipyard TKMS corresponds to the frigate type originally developed by Blohm + Voss in Hamburg at the end of the 1970s. The type ship was the Turkish "Yavuz", which was delivered in the summer of 1987. Since then, around 30 more ships of this class have been built and equipped with a wide variety of systems and configurations. The armament of the Egyptian frigates will later consist of an extensive arsenal of missiles, torpedoes and guns. There will also be two on-board helicopters, patrol boats and reconnaissance equipment. Four years ago, the German government authorised the arms export for the frigates now being manufactured at Stahlbau-Nord and is also providing export credit guarantees for the billion-euro order. The price per ship is said to be around €500 million.

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