Finnish shipbuilder Marine Alutech will deliver eleven advanced firefighting and rescue boats under a landmark €100 million joint procurement programme for Germany’s Rhine and Main waterways
North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and the city of Frankfurt am Main have awarded Finnish shipbuilder Marine Alutech a contract to build eleven next-generation firefighting and rescue boats, marking a major investment in modernising emergency response capabilities on Germany’s Rhine and Main inland waterways.
Valued at more than €100 million, the new firefighting and rescue boats are specifically designed to meet the requirements of Germany’s inland waterways. They combine state-of-the-art technologies for firefighting, technical assistance, and hazard control, enabling effective action even in complex emergencies, such as ship fires, hazardous materials incidents, or major disasters along densely populated and industrialised riverbanks.
The contract was awarded following a joint tendering process coordinated by the central procurement office of the Düsseldorf district government. The contract was awarded on May 8, 2026. This form of cooperation between the participating states and the city of Frankfurt am Main is unique in Germany and sets standards for future joint procurement projects in emergency response.
The entire Project and the Lifecycle Management is managed from MARINE ALUTECH GmbH in Rheinberg, North Rhine-Westphalia. Marine Alutech has production lines in Finland and Germany
Herbert Reul, Minister of the Interior of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, emphasizes: “The Rhine and Main rivers are lifelines for our federal states. They are also vital transport arteries, and in an emergency, every minute counts. This requires people who know what they are doing and modern technology that works. The new boats bring speed, power, and reliability to the water. Together, we are more effective.”
Achim Schwickert, Minister of the Interior, for Integration and Transport of the State of Rhineland-Palatinate: “Security doesn’t stop at state borders. That’s why we are jointly investing in modern equipment and strengthening cooperation between our fire departments on Germany’s most important waterways. The new firefighting and rescue boats are an investment in public safety, the protection of critical infrastructure, and effective emergency response for the future. With this unique nationwide cooperation, we are demonstrating how modern emergency response works: collaboratively, efficiently, and with a focus on the future.”
Mike Josef, Mayor of Frankfurt am Main: “Security isn’t created in an emergency, but through good preparation. Accordingly, it’s important for us to create the conditions that allow our emergency services to react and work under the best possible circumstances through targeted investments in emergency response infrastructure. I thank the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate for this important cooperation, which will ultimately benefit many people along the Rhine and Main rivers.”
The project partners are thus responding to growing challenges. Freight traffic on the Rhine and Main rivers is continuously increasing, while at the same time the demands on the protection of critical infrastructure are rising. Added to this are climate-related extreme events, which bring new operational scenarios. The new boats provide a future-proof foundation for rapid, coordinated, and efficient assistance on the water.
The joint procurement project enables the efficient pooling of resources. Uniform technical standards facilitate not only training and deployment, but also maintenance and operation. At the same time, pooling demand yields economic advantages. Furthermore, the project sustainably strengthens cross-border cooperation among emergency services along Europe’s major waterways.
The first firefighting and rescue boat is scheduled for delivery in early 2028 and will then undergo extended testing in real-world operations. The insights gained will be directly incorporated into the series production of the remaining boats. Delivery of the ten additional boats is planned to begin in late 2029 and be completed by mid-2032.
Of the eleven firefighting support boats in total, eight are located in North Rhine-Westphalia, two in Rhineland-Palatinate and one in the city of Frankfurt am Main.
