German Navy's Berlin ends epic mission after 17,000 nautical miles

The German Navy supply ship Berlin dropped anchor in its home port of Wilhelmshaven on Saturday after an epic voyage during which it supported NATO exercises and commemorated the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States.

As well as taking part in the UNITAS 2025 manoeuvres with more than 20 nations in the North Atlantic and off the US coast, the Berlin was the first German Navy ship to visit Greenland's capital Nuuk.

In the seas around Greenland, which administratively belongs to Denmark, the crew experienced unusual weather conditions and encounters with icebergs in thick fog.

The ship also called at New York for the first time. When it left port on September 11, the Berlin sailed down the Hudson River with banners bearing the inscription "9/11 – Never Forget" to mark the attacks 25 years ago and as a show of solidarity with the US.

"The recent voyage demanded a lot from the ship and its crew, not only in terms of climate, from the icebergs at the Arctic Circle to the subtropical climate zone off Florida," the commander of the Berlin, Captain Karsten Uwe Schlüter, said after returning to port.

After weighing anchor in Wilhelmshaven in early August, the ship crewed by around 180 people sailed around 17,000 nautical miles (31,484 kilometres) before returning home.

With a displacement of more than 20,000 metric tons, Berlin-class ships are the largest vessels in the German Navy, designed to carry fuel, water, provisions and ammunition for other ships at sea.