The ''Baltic'' is a German

emergency tow vessel An emergency tow vessel, also called emergency towing vessel, (ETV) is a multi purpose boat used by state authorities to tow disabled vessels on high seas in order to prevent dangers to man and environment. The disabled vessel is either towed to ...

(ETV) commissioned in 2010. The vessel which was built in Spain by Astilleros Armon is owned by Arbeitsgemeinschaft Küstenschutz of Germany, a consortium of tugboat companies. The

Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

of Germany has chartered the vessel to protect the German coastline. The ''Baltic'' replaced the tugboat ''Fairplay 26'' as an ETV and operates from

Warnemünde (, literally ''Mouth of the Warnow'') is a seaside resort and a district of the city of Rostock in Mecklenburg, Germany. It is located on the Baltic Sea and, as the name implies, at the estuary of the river Warnow. is one of the world's busie ...

in the western

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

. She was commissioned on 24 September 2010. The Baltic features a

bollard pull Bollard pull is a conventional measure of the pulling (or towing) power of a watercraft. It is defined as the force (in tonnes force, or kilonewtons (kN)) exerted by a vessel under full power, on a shore-mounted bollard through a tow-line, commo ...

of 127 tons and a maximum speed of . In October 2010, only a few days after commissioning, the ''Baltic'' was deployed to assist during the fire on the ferry '' Lisco Gloria'' off the island of

Fehmarn Fehmarn (, da, Femern; from Old Wagrian Slavic "''Fe More''", meaning "''In the Sea''") is an island in the Baltic Sea, off the eastern coast of Germany's northernmost state of Schleswig-Holstein. It is Germany's third-largest island, after Rüg ...

Technical dates

Engine

The ''Baltic'' is driven by two main engines of the

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...

16V250MDB3 type which are connected to two Schottel

controllable pitch propeller In marine propulsion, a variable-pitch propeller is a type of propeller with blades that can be rotated around their long axis to change the blade pitch. Reversible propellers—those where the pitch can be set to negative values—can also ...

s via transmissions and

drive shaft A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft (Australian English), propeller shaft (prop shaft), or Cardan shaft (after Girolamo Cardano) is a component for transmitting mechanical power (physics), power and torque and rotation, usually ...

s. The engines are 16-cylinder Diesel units which can provide each at a nominal 1,050

revolutions per minute Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

. The propellers are encased in

Kort nozzle A ducted propeller, also known as a Kort nozzle, is a marine propeller fitted with a non-rotating nozzle. It is used to improve the efficiency of the propeller and is especially used on heavily loaded propellers or propellers with limited di ...

s and have a maximum revolution speed of 170 rpm. Two thrusters are installed in the bow and the stern section respectively to improve the ship's manoeuvrability. To provide electrical power, two generators with a power of 1,500 kVA each are coupled to the drive shafts. Additionally two main generators of 500 kVA and an emergency power unit (150 kVA) are installed on board.

Equipment

When commissioned, the ''Baltic'' was the most powerful tugboat along the German Baltic Sea coast. For towing tasks, the ship is equipped with two hydraulic

winch A winch is a mechanical device that is used to pull in (wind up) or let out (wind out) or otherwise adjust the tension of a rope or wire rope (also called "cable" or "wire cable"). In its simplest form, it consists of a spool (or drum) attache ...

es. The towline has a diameter of 62 mm and a length of 500 m. Two fire monitors are installed on board.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baltic Tugboats of Germany 2010 ships Ships built in Spain

Technical dates

Engine

Equipment

See also

References

External links