German combat support ship Bonn joining NATO’s SNMG2

German Navy combat support ship EGV Bonn is getting underway from her Wilhelmshaven homeport on November 30 to join NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 2 (SNMG 2) in the Aegean Sea.

The 173-meter-long Berlin-class replenishment ship is joining SNMG2 after completing an overhaul which started in August 2017.

The ship started preparations for its deployment in May, when its crew sailed to Plymouth, UK, to attend GOST – the German Navy version of the Royal Navy’s world-renowned Flag Officer Sea Training (FOST). The crew additionally conducted damage control and fire fighting drills in the Bay of Neustadt.

“We caught up with a six-month yard stay delay and finished deployment preparations just in time,” Frigate Captain Markus Gansow commented. “I am proud that we succeeded in doing this together and being able to embark on a five-month deployment with the NATO group in the Aegean Sea.”

Bonn will depart Wilhelmshaven with a crew of 185. Additional personnel, including medical staff and military police, will embark the ship at a later point in time, bringing the total complement to 210.

In addition to supporting SNMG2 tasking in the Aegean Sea, Bonn will also contribute to the European Border and Coast Guard Agency “Frontex”. Bonn’s last deployment was in 2016 when the ship spent six-months as flagship of SNMG2.