The Elbe-class replenishment ships are also known tenders of the German Navy.

They are intended to support German naval units away from their home ports.

The ships carry fuel, provisions, ammunition and other matériel and also provide medical services.

[1] On 11 January 2020, Donau under the command of Captain Bernd Abshagen left her home port of Warnemünde to join the Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1 (SNMCMG1).

[3][4][5] Media related to A516 Donau (ship, 1994) at Wikimedia Commons