Denmark Orders Five Baltic Workboats SAR Vessels

The 26-metre PATROL 26 WP UltraSAR vessels will replace Denmark’s existing SAR fleet, with deliveries scheduled to begin within 14 months

Baltic Workboats has secured a €40 million contract with the Danish Ministry of Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation (DALO) to build five new PATROL 26 WP UltraSAR search and rescue (SAR) vessels.

The contract follows the completion of a detailed design programme, which developed and validated the vessel concept ahead of construction. The new vessels will replace Denmark’s existing generation of search and rescue craft, becoming the primary platforms for SAR operations in Danish territorial waters.

The 26-metre SAR vessels are designed and built to operate and perform search and rescue missions in the most demanding weather conditions along the western coast of Jutland. Key design features include fully independent and separated engine rooms, buoyancy compartments, controllable pitch propeller (CPP) propulsion and a Baltic Workboats patented wave-piercing hull. Together, these make the vessels exceptional search and rescue platforms, able to carry out missions with precision and survive extreme conditions, including 8-metre breaking waves.

The hull’s buoyancy compartments will be partially filled with buoyant material, ensuring all-compartment damage stability, a rare feature among search and rescue vessels. The PATROL 26 WP UltraSAR is also capable of self-righting with a fully flooded wheelhouse. The CPP propulsion system provides precise maneuvering and handling across the entire speed range. The vessels have a top speed of 25 knots and are equipped with a powerful towing winch, a deck crane and a fire monitor, allowing them to perform a wide range of rescue and recovery tasks.

Before construction, an extensive detailed design project of more than 20 months was completed. It included comprehensive calculations, simulations and model testing to verify the vessel’s performance and optimise the hull and systems design. A physical model of the Danish coastline, accurately reproducing its depth changes and 8-metre breaking waves, was built in the test basin to evaluate and optimise performance in all sailing directions, including following seas. Model tests also confirmed the vessel’s ability to self-right with a fully flooded wheelhouse and to drain the wheelhouse completely within two minutes.

The first vessel is scheduled for delivery to DALO within 14 months of the construction contract signing, with all five PATROL 26 WP UltraSAR vessels due to be delivered within 24 months.