The German Navy’s second new Type 707 replenishment vessel has been launched by NVL from its partner shipyard Meyer Werft in Papenburg.
As per an NVL social media post, the 173-meter-long, 20,000-ton marine fuel supplier (MBV) was launched last week and will now undergo final fitting and testing at partner shipyard Neptun Werft in Rostock before being handed over to the Navy.
The tankers will complement the German Navy’s Berlin-class logistics support ships and are replacing the Rhon-class vessels; the €900 million-plus deal to build them was struck in 2021 and construction work on them began in June 2023.
They can sail at 20 knots, have a crew of 42 and are primarily designed for replenishment at sea (RAS) missions. The new tankers have the capability to refuel two ships simultaneously, one on each side. Their 15,000-tonne fuel capacity is about a 20% increase on the Rhon-class vessels.
As the prime contractor, NVL has taken charge of project management, all naval-specific components and ensuring operational readiness and conformity with the German Armed Forces’ logistics system.
The first ship was originally scheduled to be delivered by the end of 2025 and the second in 2026.
NVL’s post read: “With the undocking of the second marine fuel supplier (MBV), we have taken another important step on the way to completion and subsequent entry into the fleet.”
- You can see more images on NVL’s social media post