The tender "Elbe" is expected to return to its home port in Kiel on Tuesday, 21 April 2026. The supply ship from the support squadron was deployed in the Aegean for over five months as part of the Standing NATO Maritime Group (SNMG) 2. The "Elbe" patrolled around 25,000 nautical miles. Under the command of Corvette Captain Michelle Niehage and her 65-strong crew, the ship, which the navy refers to organisationally as a „boat“, worked together with the armed forces of Greece, Turkey and Albania. She had one Greek and one Turkish officer on board. This was her fifth Adriatic deployment.

In addition to the core mission of maritime surveillance, the time since its departure on 10 November 2025 has also been used for continuous crew training. The question is when this deployment scenario will finally come to an end. We need the units and experts in the Baltic Sea, not off Erdogan's coast.

„A waste of time and money,“ said a naval officer behind closed doors at the naval command. Respect for the crew, who handled the scenario professionally.