HNoMS Maud sailing from the shipyard under Norwegian command
History
Norway
NameHNoMS Maud
Ordered28 June 2013
BuilderDaewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, South Korea
Laid down15 December 2015
Launched4 June 2016
Christened21 May 2019
Acquired16 November 2018
Commissioned21 May 2019
HomeportHaakonsvern naval base
Identification
StatusIn active service
Badge
General characteristics
TypeReplenishment oiler
Displacement27,500 long tons (27,941 t)
Length183 m (600 ft 5 in)
Beam25.9 m (85 ft 0 in)
Draught8.62 m (28 ft 3 in)
PropulsionDiesel Hybrid (CODLOD)

2 × 7,500 kW Wärtsilä main engines 2 × 3,170 kW Wärtsilä diesel generators

2 × 1,000 kW Wärtsilä bow thrusters
Speed18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)
Range10,000 nmi (19,000 km; 12,000 mi)
Complement43 core + up to 116 additional
Armament4 × Sea Protector
Aircraft carriedHangar space for 2 × Medium-Sized Helicopters

HNoMS Maud is a replenishment oiler constructed at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering in South Korea. She was built on behalf of the Norwegian Defense Materials Agency Forsvarsmateriell [no], for service in the Royal Norwegian Navy.[1]

Role and specifications

Maud replaced HNoMS Valkyrien as the naval logistics vessel. The vessel's primary task is to support naval forces with after-supplies. The ship is the largest ship ever in the Royal Norwegian Navy, and is twice as large as the frigates of the Fridtjof Nansen class.[2] She is named in honour of Queen Maud of Norway, wife of Haakon VII of Norway.[3] Her design is a variation of the Tide-class tankers ordered for Britain's Royal Fleet Auxiliary.[3]

The primary mission of the vessel is to provide supplies of fuel, ordinance and equipment for warships that are part of the Norwegian Task Group (NorTG) to expand the force's operational endurance at sea. Secondary tasks will include sovereignty, support for other military units, civilian support, search and rescue (SAR), humanitarian operations and participation in network-based defense. She also carries a 48-bed hospital.[3]

Construction

The launch of the ship was originally planned for March 2016. Due to delays at the yard, delivery was postponed until the autumn of 2017, with operations set to begin in 2018.[4][5] The delivery was later postponed until 30 April 2018,[6] but due to damage to her main engines her delivery date was again postponed.[7] In September 2017 members of her prospective crew attended training exercises in replenishment at sea (RAS) at the Royal Navy training facilities at HMS Raleigh, Torpoint.[3]

Because of the delays during construction of HNoMS Maud, two Reine-class patrol vessels of the Norwegian Coast Guard, Olav Tryggvason and Magnus Lagabøte, were transferred to the navy as auxiliary ships. Their prefix was therefore changed from "NoCGV" to "HNoMS".[8]

Service history

The navy took over Maud in a ceremony at the Daewoo shipyard on 16 November 2018. Chief of Staff of the Navy, flag commander Øystein Wemberg said "This is a great and historic day for the Navy and the entire maritime Norway. It is not every day we take over a new vessel."[9] Command was taken with the hoisting of the Norwegian flag, and the crew moved in for the first time.[10]

Maud arrived in Norway on 29 March 2019. On 21 May 2019, Maud was christened and commissioned in Bergen.[11] The ship would be tested for a year until the warranty runs out. In December 2019, Maud was banned from sailing after global risk-assessment firm DNV GL revealed several safety hazards, deeming the vessel too unsafe to sail.[12] The problems uncovered included heavy doors which pose a "danger" to the crew, the absence of proper lighting on board, new medical equipment that turned out to be faulty or outdated, and an oxygen generator in the operating room that could potentially pose a "major" fire hazard. The firm also found no signs that the vessel had undergone any maintenance for two years while docked at the shipyard.[13] The ship returned to the sea in September 2020.

According to the Navy and the Ministry of Defence, all problems with the ship were to be tackled during its test run, with the goal of having the vessel in operation during the second quarter of 2020.[12] In September 2020 Maud was declared safe and she sailed to Nieuwe Haven Naval Base of the Royal Netherlands Navy in Den Helder for work needed on her replenishment at sea masts.[14][15]

In February 2021 she performed her first replenishment at sea operation alongside the frigate HNoMS Fridtjof Nansen.[16][17] In September 2021 the ship started her maiden deployment, joining Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 as a "fleet oiler".[18][19] Later that month, she performed her first replenishment at sea operation with an allied vessel, the Dutch frigate HNLMS Van Amstel.[20]

Maud joined SNMG1 in late August 2022.[21]

References

  1. ^ "HNoMS Maud - Norway's new mothership (Norway)". bmt.org. 10 December 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  2. ^ "Nå bygges Sjøforsvarets største skip". Teknisk Ukeblad (in Norwegian). 21 July 2015. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d "Norwegian Navy train at Raleigh". Royal Navy. 8 September 2017. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  4. ^ "Nå er også Forsvaret utsatt for forsinkelser på et koreansk verft". Teknisk Ukeblad (in Norwegian). 30 August 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  5. ^ "Forsvarets største skip ligger fortsatt i Sør-Korea". Teknisk Ukeblad (in Norwegian). 26 January 2017. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  6. ^ "Ny leveringsdato for KNM Maud" (Press release) (in Norwegian). Norwegian Ministry of Defence. 12 September 2017. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  7. ^ Blich, Vibeke (2 May 2018). "KNM "Maud" ikke hjemme før til høsten". Skipsrevyen.no (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  8. ^ "Marinen får to nye logistikkfartøy". Aldrimer.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  9. ^ Forsvaret (21 November 2018). "KNM Maud overtatt av Norge". YouTube. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  10. ^ Blich, Vibeke (21 November 2018). "Logistikkskipet er endelig overtatt av Norge". Skipsrevyen.no (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  11. ^ Markussen, Helge Martin (21 May 2019). "Nå er "Maud" døpt". Skipsrevyen.no (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  12. ^ a b "KNM Maud får seilingsforbud etter avvik". ABC Nyheter [no; nn] (in Norwegian Bokmål). 19 December 2019. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
  13. ^ "I mai ble Forsvarets største skip døpt. Nå har det fått seilingsforbud". bt.no (in Norwegian). 19 December 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  14. ^ "HNoMS Maud, the ship that wasn't allowed to sail, still in the Netherlands". naviesworldwide.com. 2 December 2020. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  15. ^ "Schip dat niet mocht varen nu in Den Helder voor werkzaamheden aan BOZ-masten". marineschepen.nl (in Dutch). 24 November 2020. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  16. ^ "Viktig milepæl for KNM Maud". forsvaret.no (in Norwegian). 22 February 2021. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  17. ^ "Slik foregår det når KNM Maud endelig gjør det hun kan best". tu.no (in Norwegian). 11 February 2021. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  18. ^ "Friskmeldte "Maud" skal være drivstoffstasjon for Nato-styrke". 7 September 2021.
  19. ^ "Norwegian tanker 'Maud' starts maiden deployment 3 years after delivery". 6 September 2021.
  20. ^ "#SNMG1 highlights this week includes: HNoMS Maud conducted her first Replenishment at Sea with an allied vessel - HNLMS Van Amstel". Facebook. 11 September 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  21. ^ "To norske fartøy i NATOs stående maritime styrke" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Armed Forces. Retrieved 1 September 2022.

External links

Royal Norwegian Navy
Categories