VESSEL REVIEW | Burgermeister Brauer – Germany's Hamburg Water Police places hybrid patrol boat into service
The Hamburg Water Police in Germany recently took delivery of a new hybrid patrol boat built by Baltic Workboats of Estonia.
The newbuild has been named Bürgermeister Brauer ("Mayor Brauer") in honour of the late Max Brauer, a former First Mayor of the city of Hamburg.
The acquisition of the new patrol boat is in line with the Hamburg Water Police’s goal of acquiring vessels of already proven designs while still being precisely tailored to water police requirements. This will also help the city of Hamburg achieve its goal of having a climate-neutral fleet of vessels by 2040.
The new police boat has an LOA of 29.4 metres (96.5 feet), a beam of 7.4 metres (24 feet), and a maximum draught of only 2.2 metres (7.2 feet). The vessel also features a wave-piercing bow to reduce surface resistance, an automatic trim system that keeps the attitude as level as possible to minimise crew fatigue, and a plug-in hybrid drive with two 500kW electric motors.
Capable of both fast transits and long-endurance patrols
The hybrid propulsion arrangement will enable the vessel to operate exclusively on electrical power for up to two hours at a cruising speed of seven knots, though two diesel engines will enable the boat to reach a maximum speed of 25 knots if needed, such as during fast transits in response to incidents.
The diesel engines will also serve as backup, allowing the vessel to continue operating even as the batteries become depleted, an important attribute when conducting extended pursuits.
The electronics include two JRC radars while a Palfinger Marine knuckle boom crane and a stern launch and recovery ramp for a small boat are fitted on the deck just aft of the wheelhouse. The wheelhouse itself features front windscreens that are slightly reverse-angled to help reduce any glare seen from the helm station, thus improving visibility.
The boat has completed undergoing additional trials and entered service earlier this year. It will replace an earlier coastal patrol vessel that bears the same name but is fitted with petrol engines.
First in a modern fleet of police boats
The delivery of Bürgermeister Brauer is in line with the renewal of the Hamburg police boat fleet. A slightly smaller police vessel will arrive in Hamburg in the coming weeks, and it will also undergo further commissioning and crew training.
A near-identical sister of Bürgermeister Brauer will be handed over to the water police before the end of this year. The two new boats will be operated primarily in the Port of Hamburg, on the Lower Elbe River, and in Germany’s territorial waters within the North Sea.
