In a highlight of this year’s Port of Hamburg Anniversary festivities, Flotte Hamburg officially welcomed two cutting-edge hybrid patrol boats during a ceremonial christening at Landungsbrücken. Senator for Economic Affairs Dr. Melanie Leonhard and actress Rhea Harder-Vennewald ceremoniously christened the patrol boats “Bürgermeister Brauer” and “Bürgermeister Weichmann”.
The two new police boats were built at the Estonian shipyard Baltic Workboats and are equipped with an environmentally friendly plug-in hybrid drive. The powerful 500 kW electric motors enable a purely electric cruising time of at least two hours at a speed of seven knots.
Both patrol boats were handed over to the Hamburg Fleet in December of last year and have been at the disposal of the Water Police since spring of this year.
The Port of Hamburg is actively pursuing the goal of becoming climate-neutral by 2040 and is increasingly focusing on the transition toward greater climate neutrality. The promotion of sustainable technologies and energy sources plays a central role in this process for shipping.
Karsten Schönewald, Managing Director of Flotte Hamburg: “With today’s double christening, we are sending a strong signal for modern, sustainable shipping in the Port of Hamburg. Flotte Hamburg has been pooling its municipal watercraft since 2017 and has already made significant progress. The use of hybrid watercraft by the water police is another measure to reduce emissions.”
Olaf Hagenloch, Deputy Chief of the Hamburg Water Police: “The new boats are not only technical masterpieces, they are also a symbol of change. With the hybrid drive, we are actively protecting the environment – without compromising our operational capacity. This is what sustainable and modern police work on the water looks like.”
