Initially built with five-bladed Sulzer-Escher propellers, these were later replaced with seven-bladed ones from Wegemann & Company, making Bremen the fastest of her class.

[2] From 1992 to 1996 Bremen was active in the Adriatic Sea as part of NATO's Operation Sharp Guard, the maritime blockade of the former Yugoslavia during the Yugoslav Wars.

On 14 August 2009 she deployed her helicopter to counter a pirate attack on the Turkish-flagged merchant ship MS Elgiznur Cebi.

[4] In May 2012 Bremen was again deployed with Operation Atalanta, taking over from the replenishment oiler Berlin, in a ceremony attended by German Secretary of State Thomas Kossendey [de].

[7] Bremen was removed from active service on 30 September 2013, and was decommissioned on 28 March 2014 at Wilhelmshaven by her final commander, Ingolf Schlobinsky.