Increased tanker traffic, particularly on the north west Russia to USA route, presents a pollution risk to Iceland's easily damaged coastlines. A bollard pull of some 110 tons has been specified so that in emergency the new Icelandic coastguard vessel will be able to tow stricken tankers of up to about 200,000dwt.

Rolls-Royce is supplying a package of equipment and systems to go with the design. Two Bergen main engines each rated at 4,500kW will provide the power in a twin screw arrangement with shaft generators on the main gearboxes and CP propellers. Although a substantial bollard pull is needed the high speed requirement made open water propellers the favoured solution. A Rolls-Royce dynamic positioning system will meet the IMO DP1 standard, working in conjunction with a Poscon joystick system to control the engines, propellers, high lift flap rudders with independent steering gear and the four thrusters. The thruster outlet comprises two 450kW tunnel thrusters at the bow together with an 883kW swing up azimuth thruster and there will be a third tunnel thruster installed in the stern skeg. The machinery can be run in several modes, reducing the amount of energy needed to satisfy the vessel's many operating profiles and so minimising the environmental footprint.

Two coastal protection vessels of Rolls-Royce design have been delivered to the Spanish safety authority SASEMAR. The first, Don Inda, was handed over at the end of 2006 and was followed by Clara Campoamor in March 2007. They represent a massive strengthening of resources for emergency towing of vessels in trouble, salvage work if the worst happens and both minimising the impact of oil spills and skimming up floating oil.

A comprehensive range of oil booms and skimming equipment enables Don Inda and its sister to clear oil pollution both on the open sea and in more restricted waters. Oil booms can be set out and skimmers deployed to collect oil. In confined waters, two 15m long floating arms can be deployed from the ship's side in a wide vee shape. The vessel moves through the oil spill sweeping oil towards the recovery pumps.

An important feature of these two vessels is the extremely large tank capacity for recovered oil, amounting to about 1,730m³. But compared with other vessels with recovered oil capacity this figure can be multiplied because an oil separation system is built in. Instead of the typical 50:50 mix of recovered oil and water pumped to the tanks, the separator discharges back to the sea water of a cleanliness meeting environmental regulations, so that the tanks are filled with about 95% oil and only 5% water. Recovered oil can be heated for pumping to another vessel or ashore so that in the event of a massive oil spill, the SASEMAR vessels can act as both oil spill recoverers and as pumping vessels.