Oste-class fleet service ship


The Type 423 Oste class are purpose built SIGINT/ELINT and reconnaissance ships of the German Navy. Officially designated as fleet service ships, they replaced the Type 422 class.
Accommodation for the crew was designed to civil standards, and the Oste class offers much more comfort for the crew than other ships in the German Navy.

List of ships

ShipPennant
number
Call signLaunchedCommissioned
A52DRHH30 July 1988
A53DRHG10 November 1988
AlsterA50DRHF14 November 19885 October 1989

The ships were built at Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft in Flensburg.
All ships are currently based in Eckernförde and belong to the 1st Ubootgeschwader stationed in Eckernförde. The vessels received the same name and pennant numbers as the three Type 422 class vessels they replaced. To avoid the confusion, the ship names are sometimes suffixed with II.
Oker was reportedly spotted near the Syrian coast in August 2012.
Later seen in Greenwich, UK in February 2017