Drawing 1.4m, the boat will be capable of operation in waters covered by ice up to 30cm thick.

WSA official Siegfried Franke told MJ the completion of the newbuilding, which is costing about € 1.3m, was planned for the end of October but indicated that this date might not be met. Construction work on Eisvogel started shortly before last Christmas.

Franke said the boat’s main task would be to plane waterway sand and mud beds and to keep canals and rivers free of ice. He added however that it would also see varied service along 80km of the Dortmund-Ems Canal between Hanekenfaehr and Herbrum, along 60km of the Kuesten-Canal as far as Oldenburg and on the navigable River Ems as far inland as Papenburg. That’s the home of cruise ship builder Meyer Werft, which uses the Ems to float its giant newbuildings to the North Sea.

In these waters Eisvogel will also be available for barge push and pull operations, as an emergency tug and for ship traffic regulation, transport and assistance, Franke told MJ.

Construction of Eisvogel follows the delivery earlier this year, also by MWB in Wilhelmshaven, of another specialist work boat for local authorities.

The pilot transfer boat Nuebbel was built for Kiel Canal authorities and is 12.38m long and 4.3m wide. Boasting aluminium hull and superstructure, the powerful little boat has a top speed of 20.5 knots provided by two 118 kW Volvo-Penta D5A/TA engines and two Thies propellers.