Baptised "Stollergrund"

From contract to delivery in record time

On 4 July, we reported on the renewal of the fleet of the Navy's Wehrtechnische Dienststelle der Marine, WTD 71. On Friday, 30 June 2023, the first of two newbuildings of the "Messboote Seeversuche Küste" was christened "Kalkgrund". Now the second boat in this class has also been christened "Stollergrund" by Mrs Maren Jonas, wife of the mayor of Schwedeneck, at the Fassmer shipyard in Berne. The two boats complete the planning of WTD 71 for the time being.

In keeping with the weather conditions, the Fassmer shipyard had prepared the first mulled punch of the season for the ceremony. Shortly before the bottle was ceremoniously smashed against the hull, a rainbow appeared in the cloudy sky over the Weser.

The "Fassmer speed"

In his speech, Holger Fassmer emphasised the speed with which the public client had been satisfied. For the Fassmer shipyard, known for the DGzRS (German Maritime Search and Rescue Service) units and in recent years also for the new buildings for the German Federal Police, this was the first major new build for the German Armed Forces.

Sponsor and managing director

The multi-purpose boat was built to civilian standards and was virtually "market-ready", which corresponds to the concept of Defence Minister Boris Pistorius. However, the construction plan was already in place before the word became a principle. Incidentally, the hull was built by "Western Baltija Shipbuilding" in Klajpeda, Lithuania.

The second unit of the so-called "Seeversuche Küste" measuring boats was commissioned by the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) on 22 July 2021. The handover of construction number 2 to WTD 71 is scheduled to take place in November.

Holger Fassmer

Cost-effective despite inflation

Holger Fassmer expressed his gratitude to the suppliers, DNV, the client and especially his employees for this achievement. The corona crisis had taken its toll on everyone and made the work a real challenge. According to Fassmer, they had to accept considerable restrictions in planning during these times: even the organisation of a simple test drive was fraught with serious difficulties. Due to the crisis, costs had also risen considerably, both for the purchase of materials and for labour. Fassmer described the disadvantageous situation of the shipyard as follows: the contractor could not pass on this increase in costs directly to the customer. In April 2020, the Federal Ministry of Defence estimated the cost of the new build contract at 46 million euros. Both boats together therefore cost around 100 million euros. A comparatively inexpensive purchase, even if the shipyard had to cope with considerable cost increases due to inflation, material shortages and the pandemic. The actual amount of the shipyard's losses remained undisclosed.

Frank Menning, Head of WTD 71

Testing of unmanned systems as well

Frank Menning, Head of WTD 71, thanked the shipyard and emphasised the great importance of the boat for the future of his department. "These are dramatic times," he said, referring to the support provided by WTD 71 for the fleet. These units are also indispensable for national and alliance defence because they are "service providers" for the testing and development of the material. With regard to the naval inspector's "Course 2035+" concept, he predicted that these boats will play a major role in the testing of unmanned systems. A "Centre for Unmanned Systems" had been established in Eckernförde for this purpose. Menning also praised the "super" time schedule at the Fassmer shipyard and thanked everyone involved.

Christening of SVK Stollergrund at Fassmer

Technical data

"Kalkgrund" and "Stollergrund" replace the class 745 multi-purpose boats "Breitgrund" (Y866) and "Mittelgrund" (Y864) as well as the class 741 barrage weapons test boat "Wilhelm Pullwer" (A1406). The newbuilds are responsible for securing and recovering torpedoes as part of weapons testing, escorting submarines during shallow water testing, the use of autonomous underwater vehicles and also diving operations during defence-related testing of diving equipment and equipment. The boats with a length of 51.70 metres and a draught of 3.65 metres are diesel-electrically powered (Schottel, Värtsila). With 2 x 1580 KW they reach a speed of 13 knots. The main crew consists of 15 people, with a further 8 compartments for embarked technicians and scientists.

Text/Photos: hsc