New rescue boat is first of class

Costing about €5m, the all weather, self righting

SK 30

, whose propulsion system has already been covered in

MJ,

is 19

.

9m long and 4

.

75m wide

.

The vessel is set for service this year out of Greifswald on the Baltic and replaces the 28 year old rescue cruiser

Fritz Behrens

.

A sister boat, SK 31,, is under construction at Fassmer and is expected to enter service early in 2009

.

It will be based on Amrum, replacing Eiswette, also built in 1980 and the prototype for a previous DGzRS rescue vessel series

.

Eiswette will continue to serve as a wind park supply boat for German shipowner AG Ems

.

Repeat orders are meanwhile reported under consideration for the new boats, which are funded from private donations

.

They draw a low 1

.

3m and are designed for shallow coastal waters, but since they are robust with well proven hull forms and powerful engines, they are also suitable for ocean service

.

Displacing 38 tons the single propeller boats are powered by 1232 kW CAT C32 marine engines, providing 22 knots

.

A 120 kW auxiliary diesel is available to replace the main engine in an emergency or when it is not needed to generate energy or power the fire fighting pump

.

The semi-planing new boats, with aluminium hulls and superstructure, also boast bow thrusters and have a range of 350 nautical miles

.

They close a gap between the DGzSR’s emergency rescue boats of up to 10m length and the organisation’s smallest 23m long ocean going rescue cruisers

.

Unlike bigger DGzRS boats, the three man crews of the SK 30 series will not sleep on board but in billets on land during their two week tours

.

By Tom Todd