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German Navy sends large combat ship into crisis region

The German Navy is sending one of its largest combat ships off the coast of Lebanon, the “Baden-Württemberg” is scheduled to take part in the UN mission Unifil from the end of October. This means that Germany has a large ship on scene in the crisis area in the eastern Mediterranean for the first time. The deployment of the frigate was already planned in the summer. Since then, the approximately 120 crew members have been preparing for the mission. With the frigate, the Navy has a significantly larger ship than before in the crisis region, which gives the federal government more options for action. Other NATO partners have also sent naval units to the region in recent days. At the end of October, the ship, commanded by Tilmann von der Lühe (44), is scheduled to replace the smaller corvette “Oldenburg” in Limassol. The “Oldenburg” left Rostock-Warnemünde in August. From Cyprus, the “Baden-Württemberg” will then remain off the Lebanese coast until probably mid-January 2024. According to the UN resolution, the mission is maritime surveillance and support for the training of the Lebanese Navy within the framework of the UN mandate. This is the first time since December 2009 that a frigate has been sent as a German contribution to the Unifil operation off Lebanon. The German Navy was one of the first contributors to the Unifil operation. Since 2010, it has provided tenders, corvettes and minehunters from Kiel or Warnemünde for this mission. Since 2019, the “Baden-Württemberg” has completed an extensive training program. The crew was also trained long off the ports of Kiel and Eckernförde.

Frigate troubled due to fault in fuel system

The participation of the “Baden Württemberg” at the DSEI (Defence and Security Equipment International) arms trade fair in London was canceled at short notice due to technical problems that have to be resolved. The engine problems had previously occurred at sea due to a fault in the fuel system. The frigate was most recently sailing on the North Sea, after leaving Bergen on Aug 20, 2023. The frigate has been at the Wilhelmshaven naval base since Aug 222. The problem appeared to have occurred around this date. The “Baden Württemberg” is actually scheduled to sail on its first mission in October. The Navy wants to use the frigate to monitor the Mediterranean off the coast of Lebanon on behalf of the United Nations.

German Navy refused to take over new fregate from yard due to technical shortcomings

For the first time in history, the German Navy returned a shiup to its builders which had already been taken over. The reasons were considerable software and hardware defects on board the "Baden-Württemberg". The Navy declined the commissioning of the ship, and the competent arms office demanded from the shipyard Blohm + Voss in Hamburg to eliminate the shortcomings. With that, the three-billion-Euro project "F125" faltered again. The frigate, which was built for six years, will have a longer layover in Hamburg starting on Jan 19, 2017 Extensive functional evidence at sea had not been provided during the trials which took place in the North Sea, off Norway and before Kiel. The consortium Arge F125 now has the opportunity to correct the faults. The consortium consists of Thyssen Krupp Marine Systems (TKMS/Kiel), which owns the Blohm + Voss Yard, and Lürssen (Bremen).