Spessart (A1442) is the second ship of the Rhön-class tankers of the German Navy. She was commissioned at Kiel, Germany on 5 September 1977.

Construction and career

Spessart was originally built for civilian service by Kröger of Rendsburg in 1974. On 5 September 1977 she was commissioned into the German Navy, based at Kiel, Germany. On 29 March 2009, as she was taking part in Operation Atalanta, Spessart was attacked by a 7-man pirate boat. In addition to the regular 40-man civilian crew, Spessart carried a 12-man security detail which exchanged small arm fire with the pirates, and repelled the assault. The GERMAN FRIGATE Rheinland-Pfalz intervened, along with vessels from several other navies: HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën, GREEK FRIGATE Psara, SPANISH FRIGATE Victoria, and USS Boxer (LHD-4). The pirates were captured after a chase lasting a few hours.

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