On September 17, a fire broke out aboard the Schleswig-Holstein frigate of the German Navy on the Baltic Sea off Kiel.
According to the Deutsche Marine Blog, the Schleswig-Holstein frigate was forced to return to port after a fire in an electrical control panel on 17 September.
The source in the German Navy said that around 8 p.m. on board of frigate was spotted fire in a switchboard in the rear. The crew was able to quickly bring the fire under control and extinguish it. However, as there was heavy smoke below deck, ten soldiers suffered smoke poisoning.
One injured soldier was taken off shortly before 9 p.m. by the DGzRS lifeboat ‘Berlin’ from Laboe. Seven other soldiers were picked up by ambulances in Kiel and taken to hospitals. Two soldiers suffered light smoke poisoning and could stay on board.
The damage has already been assessed and it will be repaired in Kiel and the frigate is expected to be ready to return to sea next week, the German Navy said.
The Schleswig-Holstein is a Brandenburg class designed as replacements for the Hamburg-class destroyers. Frigates of Brandenburg class are primarily carried out antisubmarine warfare, but they also contribute to antiaircraft warfare defenses, the tactical command of squadrons, and surface-to-surface warfare operations. Their design includes some stealth features.
Die Fregatte SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN (im Foto rechts), auf der es am Abend des 17. Septembers in der Ostsee zu einem Brand in einer elektrischen Schalttafel kam, wird voraussichtlich nach der Reparatur der entstanden Schäden kommende Woche wieder in Kiel auslaufen. #DeutscheMarine pic.twitter.com/QJygB9yHKj
— 🇩🇪 Deutsche Marine Blog (@Deutsche_Marine) 21 September 2018