The 14.26 m wide Wangeroog is the fifth SWATH to be built by A & R, which was the first yard in Europe to create a SWATH serial production design to suit the demands of a specific operational area. The complex boats have, the yard said, already proved their worth in more than 50,000 hours of operation and their design has been modified over the years to better suit demands.

The WSV's Technische Fachstelle Nordwest in Brake will operate Wangeroog , which has been built in less than two years. The construction of two further SWATH boats at A & R will be so far advanced by the end of this year that they will be ready for operation in late 2005/early 2006, the yard said.

Abeking & Rasmussen added that its SWATH boats were now carrying out more than 25,000 boardings or pilot transfers every year. 'Their superior manoeuvring and seakeeping capabilities in rough seas guarantee a very high safety standard and increased readiness for operation on very busy seaways in the North Sea', it declared.

The SWATH boats were'an economic boarding system' for pilots in European seaports like Hamburg, Antwerp and Rotterdam, handling hundreds of millions of tons and thousands of ships a year, it said