Replenishment oiler

Convoy ships ( late Middle High German hawser " baggage" ) have to supply the task, large warships, such as aircraft carriers or cruisers and their associations with extensive operations far from his native supply bases as military supply ships. They are not like other warships for immediate hostilities, but rather the logistical support of combat units.

These ships with a tonnage of 1,000 to 12,000 gross tons must not only provide fuel, ammunition, spare parts and supplies for the combat units, but are also intended for the transport of prisoners. They are unarmored and not or only lightly armed. They are usually not occupied by the military, but are manned by civilian crews.

Convoy ships are either as combat vessels registered in the list of ships of war, and therefore apply in military conflicts as combatants, or purely civilian aid ships in the service of a Marine; as a sign of their status, they then perform in many countries instead of the flag of the naval forces of a special flag. In the case of the German Navy that is the federal service flag.