Staff from Momentum Media’s defence brand Defence Connect have attended a tour of NVL Group shipbuilding facilities in Germany and Bulgaria.
Defence Connect senior journalist Robert Dougherty with a B-515 diesel-electric submarine at U-Bootmuseum Hamburg.
Defence Connect senior journalist Robert Dougherty was invited to attend the Luerssen Australia 2023 media tour alongside company officials and other guests from 21 to 26 July this year.
Mr Dougherty travelled via multiple flights totalling 24 hours from Sydney via Singapore and London to Lürssen’s extensive defence and commercial shipyard facilities situated on the Elbe River in Hamburg, Germany.
Staying at the Empire Riverside Hotel in Hamburg, the tour group was initially welcomed aboard a night-time river boat cruise around the shipyards and through the Speicherstadt (historic warehouse district).
Defence Connect senior journalist Robert Dougherty in Hamburg, Germany during the tour.
During the main part of the tour, the group travelled through the underwater St. Pauli Elbe Tunnel before visiting the Lürssen subsidiary, 451,000 square metre, seven-dock German engineering shipyard, Blohm+Voss Hamburg.
Attendees were given an industry safety briefing and NVL Group presentation regarding current projects before touring two K130 Braunschweig class military corvettes under construction for the Germany Navy.
“The tour had an abundance of information about modern shipbuilding techniques, the latest naval defence technology and layout of ocean-going corvettes. It was a great honour to explore the crew stations where future Navy personnel will live and work,” he said.
“It was fascinating to see the separate areas of superyacht and military vessel construction sitting side-by-side with open water docks.
“I also enjoyed the historical explanation given behind a model of the German WWII battleship Bismarck, housed at the shipyard. The model had been successfully hidden by Blohm+Voss employees in a brick wall before the capture of the entire city by British troops in May 1945.
“Also on show was a 16 metric ton piece of the actual ship’s armour belt. Both were fascinating war-time artifacts.”
Immediately following the outing, Mr Dougherty attended a media conference with Lürssen chief executive officer and managing partner Peter Lürssen in Hamburg.
Mr Dougherty also explored a 1970s Soviet B-515 diesel-electric submarine at the nearby U-Bootmuseum Hamburg.
K130 Braunschweig class military corvette at under construction at Blohm+Voss Hamburg.
“The self-guided submarine experience definitely provided an interesting insight into the claustrophobic daily working conditions of early submariners and highlighted the incredible advancement of undersea technology,” he said.
“I came away from the Tango-class submarine with a new appreciation for the luxury of space aboard submerged defence vessels and the organised chaos of 1970s military equipment.”
The group then departed Germany to travel via domestic flight to Bulgaria for a tour of the MTG Dolphin shipyards in Varna.
A Kamov naval helicopter at the Maritime Museum Varna.
Mr Dougherty was able to tour the shipyards as well as explore 90 metre multipurpose modular patrol vessels (MMPV) being constructed for the Bulgarian Navy. He also attended a tour of the Maritime Museum Varna, which featured decommissioned Bulgarian military equipment, vehicles and vessels.
“I’d like to thank Luerssen Australia for the opportunity to attend the media tour to shipyards in Hamburg and Varna,” he said.
“The entire tour was seamlessly put together and covered some fantastic defence content of interest to Defence Connect readers and podcast listeners.”
The tour officially closed with the group travelling back to Sydney via Hamburg and Dubai.