This all-weather boat built by Estonian shipyard Baltic Workboats (BWB) is optimised for safe and efficient pilot transfers in the often busy and challenging conditions of the Port of Hamburg on Germany’s Elbe River.
It was designed for superior seakeeping and crew safety in rough weather. The standout wave-piercing bow significantly reduces vertical acceleration, delivering a smoother ride for pilots and crew. An automatic trim system further enhances comfort while lowering fuel consumption, allowing more operational trips per day.
Advanced features include an integrated automation and monitoring system accessible via touchscreen at the helm. Hamburg Pilot 3 represents a modern, safety-focused replacement for older vessels in one of Europe’s busiest ports.
"Hamburg Pilot 3 is a development of BWB's successful 17-metre platform with modifications including an altered bow deck design to allow bow-to-pier boarding, customer-specific side boarding ladders, an improved window design at the captain’s position, and engines that comply with ES-TRIN Stage V emissions requirements, thus reducing the CO2 emissions during the operation significantly," Rimo Timm, Head of Sales at BWB, told Baird Maritime.
Timm said that, since the vessel is based on BWB's existing and well-proven pilot boat platform, there were no major difficulties encountered during the project. Also, the cooperation with the customer was highly productive and all the required changes to the base model were seamlessly integrated.
Delivery of Hamburg Pilot 3 was completed in 2025, which Timm regarded as "a very busy year" for BWB.
"We had the shipyard basically full last year and we see that 2026 is also covered with a good workload up to the first half of 2027. There were a lot of deliveries at the end of 2025 and the beginning of 2026, such as a 42-metre electric-hydrogen tanker and two electric-hybrid pilot vessels, all for the Port of Klaipeda in Lihuania."
Timm added that BWB is working constantly on new opportunities and that the company remains hopeful about other developments within the next six months.
As BWB works towards maximising its future prospects, Timm remarked that the pilotage industry continues to be influenced by operators' need for greater comfort and efficiency.
"Pilot boats are becoming even more optimised for energy efficiency while also taking exact pilotage profile into account," he told Baird Maritime. "These can vary depending on parameters such as sea area and required travel distances.
"Of course, the safety and comfort of the crew are also important, and so we put great emphasis on developing well-thought-out solutions to guarantee a safe onboard working environment. This starts with the vessel's general design, in order to guarantee the best seakeeping and operability, and ends with customer-specific detailed solutions for layouts, the working environment, and other aspects."
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