The German Navy intends to procure two fleet tankers under the designation fuel transporter class 707 , which will replace the ships of the Rhön class from 2024. This planning was approved on July 17, 2019 by the Inspector General of the Bundeswehr . These are double-hull tankers with significantly increased tactical and logistical capacities compared to their predecessors.
While the Rhön-class ships still had a capacity of 11,500 cubic meters of fuel and space for two TEU standard containers, the new tankers should be able to transport at least 15,000 m³ of fuel and 20 TEU. This increases the displacement to over 20,000 tons compared to the 14,000 tons of the Rhön class. The maximum speed should be increased to at least 20 knots in order to be able to keep up with the units to be supplied such as frigates. So that the ships can use the Wilhelmshaven naval base without deepening the harbor basin, the maximum draft was set at 8 m.
As with its predecessors, the civilian crew will consist of 42 people. This enables the ships to supply three ships at the same time, two of them abeam and one through the stern at sea . There are 30 additional berths available for additional staff. According to the German Navy's multi-crew concept, the two tankers will have three crews.
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