'She fills a gap in our safety plan for pollution control on the River Weser', said government official Elizabeth Motschmann at the launch. That was a reference to the pollution control system in place along Germany's busy and sensitive North Sea and Baltic coasts. 'We are now in good shape on our coasts and prepared for the real thing, while hoping that it will never happen', she added.

Those coasts are patrolled by a fleet of pollution control ships funded by the country's five coastal states and monitored by Germany's new Central Command for Maritime Emergencies (Havariekommando) in Cuxhaven.

Formerly the inland clean up and oil disposal tanker barge Marcus, Luneplate was bought in 2004 and shortened by 13.5m to 66.3m and 11.4m width at Con-Mar before the rest of the work was carried out by Heise.

The resultant ship is, in the words of Havariekommando spokeswoman Ulrike Windhoevel, 'a one-off'.

The purchase and conversion cost 5.2m. Operators Sunkimat paid for the oil collection system, free-fall lifeboat, piping and other equipment which will enable the ship to perform a range of other work, like tank cleaning, when it is not needed by the Havariekommando for pollution control.

Luneplate has a bow which can be opened 6m and two 10m sweeping arms equipped with hydraulic skimming systems plus a capacity of 556m 3in six tanks. It is driven by two Deutz Diesels each of 347kW, propelling the vessel at a speed of 9 knots.