German tanker Rhön returns from NATO deployment

German Navy’s replenishment oiler Rhön is set to return to its homeport in Wilhelmshaven after completing a two-month deployment to NATO’s standing maritime group 1 (SNMG1).

Rhön is scheduled to enter harbor on November 30 after spending 57 days at sea and sailing 9,000 nautical miles.

The ship departed WIlhelmshaven on October 4 to join the SNMG1 which mostly operates in the Baltic Sea and North Sea.

Rhön’s role during the deployment was to supply fuel for the ships in the group which was made up of units from Spain, Portugal, Germany and the UK. As it was the case with earlier deployments, Rhön also served as a training platform for the group’s boarding teams.

The oiler is part of the German Navy’s replenishment squadron in the Wilhelmshaven navy base. It is operated mostly by a civilian crew and commanded by a civilian captain. Rhön is the lead ship in a class of two replenishment oilers the German Navy received in the 1970s. The other ship in the class is the Spessart.