German frigate Sachsen sails into HMNB Portsmouth ahead of replacing Royal Navy's HMS Dragon on Nato op
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A German frigate which has become the new flagship for a Nato mission has visited HMNB Portsmouth.
Sachsen, the lead ship of a fleet of Sachsen-class vessels, sailed past The Round Tower in Old Portsmouth shortly after 5pm this evening (April 9). A cluster of photographers and naval enthusiasts gathered along the Hot Walls to capture her arrival.
She was brought into Portsmouth under the tow of the tug boats Bountiful and Indulgent. The escort boat Christina was waiting for the German warship in the harbour.
Sachsen is due to take charge of Nato’s Standing Maritime Group 1. This command to patrol the North Atlantic was originally set for the Royal Navy, under the command of the Type 45 destroyer HMS Dragon.
Plans changed after the Portsmouth-based destroyer was deployed to the eastern Mediterranean to protect Cyprus on March 10. Three busy weeks of training followed as she headed to the European island, but the warship - brought out of maintenance - has run into technical difficulties with her water systems. She remains at a high level readiness and can still sail at short notice, but has been forced into port.
Her Nato replacement Sachsen will have a senior Royal Navy commodore on board to command the group. The German embassy previously said it showed the close partnership between the two countries. “Germany is increasing its military presence in the North Atlantic under Nato,” they added. “As the UK deploys HMS Dragon to the eastern Mediterranean, German frigate Sachsen will take over from HMS Dragon as Nato maritime task group flagship.”
Sachsen has previously served in Standing Maritime Group 1 on various occasions, first in 2004 when she was commissioned alongside the American aircraft carrier USS Enterprise. She was also assigned to the Nato formation in 2007 and 2009. The warship participated in UNITAS Gold exercises, where she took part in the sinking of a target ship, the former destroyer USS Conolly. The German vessels has conducted operations across the globe in Somalia and close to the Arctic Circle.
The frigate weighs 5,800 tonnes and is 57.2ft long, with the ability to travel up to 29 knots. She can hold a crew of nearly 250. Offensively, she can utilise a dual-purpose compact gun, two Mauser MLG 27 27 mm autocannons, one vertical missile launcher system, four 12.7mm heavy machine guns, two RAM missile launchers with surface to air missiles, and other weaponry.
In response to the Royal Navy not offering up a ship to replace HMS Dragon, defence secretary John Healey previously said the Germans were “good allies” to step in and provide their frigate. Asked if he was embarrassed that a UK ally had to step in, he said it was a “sign of the strength of the Nato alliance … but I’m not happy with the situation we have with British warships, and that’s because it takes six years to build a warship.”