- Filed Under
BONN — The German Navy has finally deployed its new corvette Class 130 warships, four years after the vessel was commissioned.
The Magdeburg (F 261) left its homeport of Warnemünde at the Baltic Sea on Sept. 24 for a two-month deployment with a U.N. maritime task force operating off the coast of Lebanon.
Corvette F 261 is the second of five ships in a new class of warships purchased by the German Navy. The vessel was commissioned in 2008, but along with the earlier vessel has been plagued by technical problems, primarily relating to the transmission. In June, there were reports of toxic gas in the engine compartments of the ships.
“I am pleased to prove the capability of the corvette with a well-trained crew for the first time on operation,” said the ship’s captain, Commander Torben Steinweller.
He and his 58-member crew, and additional naval protection forces, will reach their deployment area in the eastern Mediterranean after a two-week transit.
