She is being sold though VEBA, the Government agency which disposes of German military equipment and supplies. Reports said the Germans hoped to raise 250,000-300,000 for the veteran icebreaker and were also selling the buoy layer Buk , built in Poland in 1969.

Stephan Jantzen 's most difficult service was in the extreme winter of 1978/9 when she freed cargo ships caught in the iced-over Baltic and escorted them to safety.

In 1995 the icebreaker punched through ice up to three metres high blockading the Baltic Island of Rugen, enabling the local Volkswerft shipyard, among others, to continue working.

Her captain of 12 years, Gunther Towara, and most of her 16 man crew, have now switched to a replacement ship, the 38mmulti-functional Arkona , built to perform a wide range of tasks including tug and fire-fighting work as well as ice-breaking and charting.

The 13.1 knot Arkona is one of the latest ships in Germany's fleet of flexible emergency response vessels. She is 69.2m long, 14.5m wide and draws 4.5m. With a bollard pull of 40 tons, she boasts four MTU 1,140kW engines driving two Schottel rudder propulsors.

When she want into full service in 2004, officials stressed her capabilities in pollution combat and emergency towage rather than her icebreaking qualities.

There has been some criticism of late that multi-functional ships, however sophisticated, are 'jacks of all trades but masters of none'.