For other ships with the same name, see HDMS Absalon.

HDMS Absalon (F341) and her sister ship Esbern Snare are the two members of the Absalon class.[2] The lead ship of the class is named after Danish archbishop and statesman Absalon and received full operational status in 2007.

Design

The ships are the first in a series of RDN vessels tasked with carrying out new types of missions, and are to form the backbone of the international operations that the RDN is increasingly focusing on.[3]

The Absalon-class ships are primarily designed for command and support roles, with a large ro-ro deck, but with their many offensive weapons and new anti-submarine weapons and tasks, the class was changed to frigates in 2020.

The three frigates of the succeeding Iver Huitfeldt class are similar to the Absalon-class vessels but without the large ro-ro deck.[4]

Absalon is one of a number of vessels to have been filmed by documentary makers to appear on the Mighty Ships TV programme, detailing the capabilities and stories of the ship and crew.[5]

Service

Somali counter-piracy mission

Starting in 2008, HDMS Absalon participated in the UN-led counter-piracy mission off Somalia and the east coast of Africa, acting as flagship to the Danish Task Group which led Task Force 150.[6] In September 2008, as part of the task force, Absalon was involved in the capture of 10 pirates, who were eventually set free. On 3 December 2008, after the mandate had been extended,[7] Absalon rescued a disabled skiff with suspected pirates aboard in the Gulf of Aden, 90 miles off the coast of Yemen;[8] the Somali craft was reported to hold rocket-propelled grenades and AK-47 assault rifles, and to have been adrift for several days. Absalon took the sailors and weapons aboard, sank the craft, and turned the sailors over to the Yemeni Coast Guard.[9] Absalon was reportedly the most successful counter-piracy warship in the Gulf of Aden, capturing 88 out of the 250 pirates detained.[10]

On 16 March 2009, Absalon, along with the Turkish frigate TCG Giresun, successfully prevented pirates from capturing the Vietnamese cargo ship MV Diamond Falcon.[11][12] Absalon's counter-piracy mission with NATO Task Force 150 in Somali waters ended 1 April 2009, after resulting in the capture of over 80 pirates, some of whom were transferred to the Netherlands for trial.[13]

On 5 February 2010, Absalon helped to rescue the crew of the Antigua and Barbuda-flagged merchant vessel Ariella, which was being hijacked by six armed pirates. Absalon dispatched a helicopter and a special forces team, deterring the pirates.[14] On 1 March 2010, Absalon was reported to have sunk a Somali pirate mother ship carrying several pirate speedboats in the Indian Ocean.[15]

On 7 January 2012, Absalon intercepted and boarded a Somali pirate mother ship in the Indian Ocean. The boarding crew freed 14 Iranian and Pakistani fishermen who had been held as hostages for over two months.[16]

On 30 November 2015, Minister of Defence Peter Christensen, announced that Absalon was to be moved to the Mediterranean Sea, in order to accommodate Turkey's request to NATO, for a larger military presence in the area.[17]

From 7 May to 13 May 2022, Absalon took part in Exercise Mjolner 2022 held in the Arctic region.[18]

References

  1. ^ "Absalon Class Combat / Flexible Support Ship, Denmark". naval-technology.com. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  2. ^ "Støtteskibe af ABSALON-klassen" (in Danish). Royal Danish Navy. Archived from the original on 26 January 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  3. ^ "An Overview of Current, On-Going Danish Naval projects -- 2005-2009 Absalon class Command and Support Ship (CSS / Transport Frigate)". Canadian American Strategic Review. May 2008. Archived from the original on 24 June 2009. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  4. ^ "An Overview of Current, On-Going Danish Naval projects 2005-2009 Projekt Patruljeskib – a Patrol Ship or Heavily-Armed Future Frigate". Canadian American Strategic Review. July 2008. Archived from the original on 15 June 2009. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  5. ^ Mighty Ships Archived 2012-11-04 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "Danish navy vessel leads operation against Somali pirates". Monsters and Critics. Archived from the original on May 20, 2011. Retrieved 2010-08-15.
  7. ^ "ABSALON forlænget i ADEN-bugten". Forsvaret.dk. 2008-11-27. Archived from the original on December 10, 2008. Retrieved 2010-08-15.
  8. ^ "Suspected pirates rescued in Gulf of Aden". CNN. 5 December 2008. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  9. ^ Cowell, Alan (5 December 2008). "Danish Navy Rescues Suspected Pirates". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  10. ^ Danish Newspaper Article [dead link]
  11. ^ "Đan Mạch, Thổ Nhĩ Kỳ cùng giải cứu tàu hàng Việt Nam". Viet bao.com (in Vietnamese). 16 March 2009. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  12. ^ "Vietnamese Cargo Ship Rescued From Pirates - Turkish Army". Morningstar.com. 16 March 2009. Retrieved 24 March 2009. [dead link]
  13. ^ Sørensen, Laura Marie (17 April 2009). "'Absalon' slap 83 pirater fri". Politiken (in Danish). Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  14. ^ "Nato troops free ship off Somalia after pirate attack". BBC News. 5 February 2010. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  15. ^ Lekic, Slobodan (2 March 2010). "NATO warship sinks pirate ship off Somalia". Seattle Times. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  16. ^ "Danish warship captures suspected pirate mothership, frees 14 people off the Horn of Africa". Worldnews.com. 8 January 2012. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  17. ^ "Denmark sends pirate hunter Absalon to the Mediterranean". DR.dk (in Danish). 30 November 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  18. ^ "Norwegian-Led Mjølner 2022 Multinational Exercise Concludes In Arctic". Naval News. 17 May 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2022.

External links