State Interior Minister Klaus Buss said they underscored the need for effective and modern policing in Schleswig Holstein.

The state lies between the North and Baltic Seas and has long coast lines and responsibilities on both. The two new boats however will see service on the 100km-long Kiel Canal, which joins the two seas between Brunsbuttel and Kiel, divides the state and is said to be the busiest artificial waterway in the world.

Symbolic of that was their naming in Kiel by the wives of the mayors of Brunsbuttel, on the Elbe Estuary in the North Sea to the west, where Stor will be based, and Maasholm on the eastern Baltic coast, where Angeln will be stationed.

The two Minor 34s were the first to be built for the WSP by the Sarins Batar Shipyard in Kokkola in Western Finland, which builds about 80 boats a year for private clients and local authorities. They were shipped to Emden in February on the Dutch cargo ship Nordland for fitting out and hand-over.

The boats draw 1.1 m and have ice-strengthened bows. Weighing 9 tons when carrying 1,100 litres of Diesel and 100 litres of water, their sharp bow lines and yacht style hulls are designed to cope with rough weather conditions.

Stor and Angeln are driven by two Yanmar engines, each of 272 kW, providing maximum 33 knots over two ZF gear units and two four-bladed bronze propellers.