Having said that, however, she reported that the originally agreed delivery dates, November this year and June next year, had been revised with the contractor, the Procurement Agency of the German Federal Customs Administration, when construction began in December.

NSW quoted officials as saying SWATH (Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull) vessels had been chosen because of their small waterline displacement area, which meant 'extremely good behaviour, even in heavy seas'. During model tests at the MARIN ship design research institute in Holland the type had demonstrated 'excellent sea-holding characteristics' according to Reinecke.

Another reason for choosing this design was to ensure optimum deployment, which would also include service with other official bodies.

NSW said the new boats will displace less than 1,000 tons and are being built to GL standards. They will be 1 m wide and of 9m moulded depth. Their Diesel-electric propulsion system comprises four MTU Type 4000 gensets, each with an effective shaft output of 2,200 kW. Two 3,800 kW E-motors, one in each float, together provide 7,600 kW to drive the propellers. No suppliers other than MTU were named.

NSW has not built SWATH ships of this size before. It said they were an opportunity to utilise experience gained with its 72m research vessel Planet, delivered in 2005 and the biggest SWATH  so far built in Germany.