German Navy tender ‘Main’ is set to return to its homeport in Eckernförde on April 13, concluding her deployment to the Mediterranean Sea.

The tender spent six-months resupplying other EU ships deployed to the EU NAVFOR led operation Sophia which fights against human smugglers in the Mediterranean Sea.

Apart from her crew, ‘Main’ was home to medical personnel, military police, translators and an Austrian boarding team, meaning the total crew consisted of 105 members.

The ship’s commander, Captain lieutenant Christian Meyer said he was pleased with the performance of his crew noting that the ship covered a total of 29,000 nautical miles during the 178 days at sea.

FGS Main is relieved by sister ship FGS Rhein which set sail on March 21 and headed toward the Mediterranean Sea.

Operation Sophia has been running since October 2015 and has recently been extended to last until December 2017. The mission is an EU undertaking aimed at curbing organized people smuggling. EU assets use air and satellite imagery to collect information on smugglers and patrol the Libyan coast to uncover criminal networks.