Baltic Workboats wins €40m Danish SAR vessel contract

Estonian shipbuilder Baltic Workboats has won a €40 million contract to build five 26-metre search-and-rescue vessels for Denmark’s Ministry of Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation (DALO).

The vessels will be operated by the Danish Coastal Rescue Service, Kystredningstjenesten, and are intended for rescue work off western Jutland.

The order follows a detailed design programme lasting around 20 months. Baltic Workboats says the first vessel is scheduled for delivery within 14 months of the construction contract being signed, with all five due within 24 months.

The new PATROL 26 WP UltraSAR vessels are being designed for a coastline where breaking waves can reach eight metres. Their key features include the shipyard’s wave-piercing hull, controllable-pitch propellers and two fully separated engine rooms.

Because the engine rooms are completely separate, if one machinery space is damaged or disabled for any reason, there is back up, Baltic Workboats says.

“The hull’s buoyancy compartments will be partially filled with buoyant material, ensuring all-compartment damage stability, a rare feature among search and rescue vessels, says Baltic Workboats. “The PATROL 26 WP UltraSAR is also capable of self-righting with a fully flooded wheelhouse.”

Model testing reportedly demonstrated that the wheelhouse could drain completely within two minutes after righting.

The specified top speed is 25 knots. Equipment will include a towing winch, deck crane and fire monitor, supporting rescue, towing and assistance duties as well as recovery operations. The design and testing programme included simulations and model trials in a basin reproducing the changing depths and severe breaking-wave conditions of the Danish west coast.

The contract forms part of a wider renewal of Denmark’s coastal rescue capability. In information published by the Danish Emergency Management Agency, which oversees Kystredningstjenesten, the service’s chief describes the operational requirement as rapid response in all weather while maintaining crew effectiveness and safety.