The two Absalon Class vessels,
built by Odense Steel Shipyard for the Danish Navy, are flexible support ships
(combat support ships). The ships can be equipped for naval warfare, land
attack, strategic sealift missions or as a command platform. They can also be
configured as hospital ships or for emergency disaster relief.
Hdms Absalon (L16) was launched
in February 2004 and commissioned into the Royal Danish Navy in July 2004. The
second of class, Esbern Snare (L17), was launched in June 2004 and commissioned
in February 2005. Hdms Absalon (L16)
and her sister ship Hdms Esbern Snare (L17) are the biggest ships ever to serve
in the Royal Danish Navy (RDN), and are the two members of the Absalon class
flexible support ships. The two ships in
the Absalon class, named after Danish archbishop and statesman Absalon,
received full operational status in 2007.
The Absalon class has a crew of
100. Permanent accommodation is also included for up to 70 additional personnel
such as combined or joint task force headquarters staff. Container
accommodation for an additional 130 forces personnel can be installed on the
flex deck. The ship has galley and personnel facilities for up to 300 embarked
passengers and crew.
A containerised modular hospital
can be installed on the flex deck. The hospital has a throughput capacity to
treat 40 emergency patients a day or up to ten major surgical
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.
The
Absalon-class ships are primarily designed for command and support roles, with
a large ro-ro deck, while the following three frigates of the Ivar Huitfeldt-class
will be equipped for a combat role and potentially equipped with Tomahawk
cruise missiles, a first for the Danish Navy. Although similar to the
Absalon-class vessels, the frigates will not have a large ro-ro deck. Scheduled for completion in 2008 and 2009,
the frigates are to receive full operational status in 2010 and 2011, replacing
the Niels Juel-class corvettes.
Hdms Absalon is seen here arriving in Leith to participate in Joint Warrior 13-2
