With a maximum propulsive power of 3600kW, the new vessel will be a smaller version of the 9000kW Neuwerk delivered in the late 1990s by another east German shipyard Volkswerft in Stralsund.

Ostsee is nearly 10m longer and her beam is 3.5m narrower. Otherwise the new ship is modelled closely on her big sister.

The German Ministry of Transport, which has ordered the newbuilding, said she was costing around ?40m but the shipyard itself, unusually, was quoted as saying it was closer to ?32m.

There was however no doubt about the range of work which the new Ostsee will tackle. She will be multi-purpose, with modern gear and well-equipped to tackle marine pollution.

officials said. Peene Werft MD Werner Lundt added she would also put out fires, lay buoys and serve as a tug and an ice-breaker.

She will also be expected to perform mapping and some policing duties and will boast a 40 ton bollard pull for salvage work.

The German authorities said Ostsee would close an eastern coastal coverage gap in the German maritime emergency service network. She will join the two chartered coastal protection tugs Fairplay-26 and Fairplay-25, in Rostock and Sassnitz, the Bulk stationed in Kiel and the oil combat ship Scharhorn, now re-equipped for tug service.