On Wednesday, the main customs office in Kiel put the new customs boat "Fehmarn" into service

Among those attending the ceremony at Kiel's Ostseekai were the Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister of Finance, Dennis Rohde, the President of the Directorate General of Customs, Dr Armin Rolfink, the Managing Director of the Peene shipyard in Wolgast, Harald Jaekel, as well as numerous guests from customs cooperation and partner authorities.

The godmother of the "Fehmarn" is the Head of the Central Department at the Federal Ministry of Finance, Anne Schwenk. She gave the ship its name and, in keeping with tradition, wished it "good sailing at all times and always a hand's breadth of water under the keel". The 55-metre-long boat will be used to monitor the cross-border movement of goods and to enforce customs regulations in the Bay of Lübeck and Mecklenburg up to the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). It was built at the Peene shipyard in Wolgast (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania), which belongs to the NVL Group.

It has a low-emission LNG drive (LNG, liquefied natural gas), which completely eliminates sulphur dioxide, significantly reduces nitrogen oxides and cuts particulate emissions by 95 per cent. A reduction in environmental pollution. The rigid-hull inflatable boat carried as a daughter boat bears the name "Orth" and increases flexibility during inspection trips and boarding manoeuvres. The godmother of the daughter boat "Orth" was the Fehmaran, Neela Bergemann. The captain of the customs vessel, René Huber, expressed his special thanks to the godmothers, the guests and the shipyard.

Technical data:

Length: 55.20 metres

Width: 10.00 metres

Draught: 2.55 metres

Speed: 25 knots

Crew: 8 + 2 control officers

Photos/Text: Michael Nitz / Editorial team