The fourth of five new corvettes for the German Navy was christened today at the Blohm+Voss NVL site in Hamburg.
The “Augsburg” is now scheduled for final outfitting. In future, the ships will primarily be deployed near the coast, including for reconnaissance and maritime target engagement in the North and Baltic Seas.
The ship christened today will now be put into operation and undergo all the necessary functional checks and approvals. These will take place in coordination with the specialist departments of the public client and the navy.
“The sponsorship of the corvette ‘Augsburg’ is an important sign of the bond between our city and the German Navy,” said Eva Weber, Lord Mayor of the sponsored city of Augsburg. “This partnership stands for mutual respect and recognition of the important work carried out by the corvette’s servicemen and women. We are proud to strengthen and maintain this connection.”
Weber himself was unable to attend, but was represented by the third mayor Bernd Kränzle. The 89-metre-long ship’s mooring line was cut by godmother Sigrun Maxzin-Weigel, director of the Evangelical Children’s and Youth Welfare Center in Augsburg. Other guests of honor were Flotilla Admiral Andreas Czerwinski, Head of the Maritime Department of the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) and Rear Admiral Christoph Joachim Müller-Meinhard, Commander Support and Head of the Operational Support Department at the Naval Command in Rostock.
NVL chief: “Modernization of the naval forces is a priority”
“For us at NVL and the entire project team, the fourth christening in a row marks an important step in the production process for these technically sophisticated naval vessels,” said Tim Wagner, CEO of NVL. “The modernization of our naval forces is a top priority for us in light of the intensifying security situation. As a long-standing and reliable industrial partner of the German Navy, we have a responsibility to fully support the security policy course of an accelerated upgrade.”
This applies both to current projects and potential future projects, for which important personnel and infrastructure requirements have been created. “In the past year alone, we have significantly increased our workforce with around 400 new highly qualified employees and invested heavily in our infrastructure, including the roofing of our dry dock at the Wolgast site. Work is also currently underway on the new NVL campus at the Lemwerder site, where more than 400 employees will be working in future,” Wagner continued.
Five corvettes under construction
The five corvettes are currently in various stages of production at the Blohm+Voss shipyard in Hamburg; the “Karlsruhe” was christened last year. Parallel to the final outfitting and commissioning of the boats, the project teams are already conducting sea trials with the second corvette. The construction contract includes design services, production, the integration of all systems, equipment and installations and the design of the shore and training facilities. The corvettes are being built by the K130 consortium (ARGE), which consists of NVL, Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems and German Naval Yards Kiel.
