Finnish boatbuilder Marine Alutech has been selected for the construction of 11 new firefighting vessels for operation in the states of Nordrhein-Westfalen and Rheinland-Pfalz and the city of Frankfurt/Main in Germany.
The contract for the new vessels has a value of more than €100 million (US$110 million).
Marine Alutech said the new boats will combine the most modern technologies for firefighting, technical assistance and hazard prevention on the water, thereby allowing them to protect local populations, infrastructure and the environment.
The entire project and the lifecycle management will be managed from Marine Alutech's local production centre in Rheinberg in Nordrhein-Westfalen.
The first boat is scheduled to be delivered at the beginning of 2028 and then extensively tested under actual operational operations for a year. Marine Alutech said the knowledge gained from the tests will be directly incorporated into the series production of additional boats.
The builder added that the aim is to establish a new generation of "future-proof" firefighting boats for emergency response on the Rhine and Main Rivers.
Delivery of all 11 boats is scheduled to be completed by the middle of 2032.
