« It’s not every day the Navy gets the pleasure of renaming a new vessel, so this is great, » added Stensønes.
Together with godmother Anniken Huitfeldt, head of the Norwegian Parliament Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee, KNM Maud was baptized at Festningskaien, in Bergen.
KNM Maud has taken the name after Queen Maud of Norway. With its cargo capacity, the vessel will keep its own and allied forces supplied with necessary fuel, supplies, ammunition, spare parts, workshop capacities and sanitation.
« KNM Maud will be our mother ship. She will support and be there for everyone. KNM Maud and her capabilities are a sought after resource both here and in NATO. Not least, she will be important in the work to maximize operational availability with today’s vessel structure, » continued Stensønes.
In the Norwegian Parliament’s revised state budget, last week it was announced that money had been set aside to start forming a second crew for the KNM Maud vessel.
« We now have full focus on getting the first crew operational. This will be the target during 2020. Already this year we will start work on putting together a second crew, which we are planning to have operational during 2021, » stated Stensønes.
With two crews, KNM Maud will be able to support its own and allied forces throughout the year. In this way, the KNM Maud and operational units can operate much longer without having to go to quay for necessary supplies.
The KNM Maud has been assembled by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering in South Korea through the Project P2513 new logistics vessel program. The ship was taken over by the Royal Norwegian Navy in November 2018 and arrived in Norway on 29 March 2019. Starting 2020, she will replace the KNM Valkyrien.
The KNM Maud vessel can load up to 200 tons of ammunition, spare parts, 30 tons of supplies, boats, vehicles, and over nine million liters of fuel for their own and allied marine vessels. With a crew of 68, the vessel can accommodate up to 48 injured people and an additional 99 soldiers.
Thanks to the a 25-ton crane, the KNM Maud can hoist onboard over 60 containers that can be transported on deck. The 750-square-meter helicopter deck can board the NH90, of which two of them can be stored in the hangar.
