Spessart (A1442) is a Rhön-class tanker

Rhön class tanker

The Type 704A Rhön class tankers are replenishment oiler used by the German Navy to provide underway replenishment for its ships at sea.-Ship list:Originally the ships were built for Libya as Okene and Okapi...

 of the German Navy

German Navy

The German Navy is the navy of Germany and is part of the unified Bundeswehr .The German Navy traces its roots back to the Imperial Fleet of the revolutionary era of 1848 – 52 and more directly to the Prussian Navy, which later evolved into the Northern German Federal Navy...

. She was commissioned in Kiel

Kiel

Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...

 on 5 September 1977.

History

Spessart was originally built for civilian service by Kröger of Rendsburg

Rendsburg

Rendsburg is a town on the River Eider and the Kiel Canal in the northeastern part of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the capital of the Kreis of Rendsburg-Eckernförde. As of 2006, it had a population of 28,476.-History:...

 in 1974. On 5 September 1977 she was commissioned into the Deutsche Marine, based at Kiel.

On 29 March 2009, as she was taking part in Operation Atalanta

Operation Atalanta

Operation Atalanta is a current military operation undertaken by the European Union and the European Union Naval Force. It is part of a larger global action by the EU in the Horn of Africa to deal with the Somali crisis; for example World Food Programme ships food aid to ports in Somalia and...

, 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 frigates HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën

HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën (F802)

HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën is the first ship of the De Zeven Provinciën class air defence and command frigates in service with the Royal Netherlands Navy...

, HS Psara

Greek frigate Psara (F-454)

The Greek Frigate Psara is the third ship of the Greek Hydra frigate class. It is based on the Blohm + Voss MEKO 200 frigate class and was buil by Hellenic Shipyards Co...

, SPS Victoria

SPS Victoria (F82)

SPS Victoria is the second of the six Spanish-built s, based on the American design, of the Spanish Navy.Laid down on August 16, 1983, and launched on July 23, 1986, Victoria was commissioned in service on November 11, 1987....

, USS Boxer

USS Boxer (LHD-4)

The sixth USS Boxer is a of the United States Navy. She is the sixth US Navy ship to bear the name, and was named for a British ship captured by the Americans during the War of 1812....

and the Rheinland-Pfalz (F 209) intervened and captured the pirates after a few hours of chase.