The three vessels have a total staff complement of around 600 people. The fleet is currently conducting Desex 2004, carrying out exercises and training for candidate officers of the German and other navies and cooperating with NATO and other partner navies along their route. The deployment is from 24 February until 9 July, during which the task group will visit 11 ports in nine countries.

Speaking to the press, Task Group Commander Captain Rainer Endres explained that the main purpose of the voyage is to educate German Naval Academy cadets.

There are about 70 cadets on board and they are integrated into the crew of the ships, he said. After six weeks, another group of 70 students will take their place, to learn what life on a warship is all about, he explained.

The captain said that this will serve as an introduction to the heart of the navy – an experience that should stay with them until they return to the navy after their time at university.

He said that the German navy has been trying to recruit more women and he was pleased to announce that 44 of the 230 cadets from the Naval Academy are female. The women are highly motivated and work hard to be equal to, if not better than, the men on board, explained the captain.

They visited Malta because after exercising at sea, the crew needed to rest to regain their energy.

While at sea the crew suffers from extreme lack of sleep, explained Captain Endres, getting only about three hours’ sleep a night. Therefore the time spent in a harbour such as Malta helped keep the balance, he said.

The Captain said that the German ships will be carrying out seamanship exercises with the Maltese this morning after leaving the harbour.

The German ships are scheduled to leave Malta’s coastal waters early this afternoon.