Damen delivers custom electric fire-fighting vessels to German port

Damen has handed over twin electric fire-fighting vessels to Flotte Hamburg, a subsidiary of the Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) tasked with implementing low-emission shipping in the city.

With 315 kWh of battery capacity, the plug-in hybrid vessels are said to be capable of extended, fully electric, emissions-free operations in and around the Port of Hamburg. The vessel Prag will be operated by Hamburg’s fire service while sister ship Dresden will support the HPA, the fire service and other third parties.

The vessels, classed as Damen Fire-Fighting Vessels 3508, are completely new designs fitted out to the latest standards. 35.5-metres in length and with a maximum speed of 12 knots, they are equipped to not just fight fires in the port and within the city itself. The company says their compact size also enables them to undertake other activities including water supply, rescue and recovery, technical assistance and environmental protection.

With a draft of just 1.5-metres, and the ability to lower their wheelhouses, the vessels can also undertake bridge inspections and maintenance within the city, as well as serve locations that larger vessels would be unable to reach.

The installed fire-fighting systems include foam pump and control systems, a pre-wetting system, a water spray system around the vessels and internal fire-fighting capability using a Stat-X aerosol fire suppression system.

The climate-controlled wheelhouse and dayroom accommodate up to six crew, but the vessels can also position mission containers on deck for additional fire-fighting equipment and day accommodation for up to 16 firefighters

The hulls for the vessels were fabricated at Damen Shipyards Kozle in Poland and then transported to Damen Shipyards Hardinxveld in the Netherlands for completion. The vessels are now undergoing final commissioning and training of the crews and fire-fighters.

“It was good to be working once again with HPA, having built them a floating pump station in 2016,” says Jeroen van Woerkum, sales manager at Damen Shipyards Hardinxveld. “Designed by Robert Allan, these were already highly complex vessels, and the hybrid propulsion introduced yet another level of complexity. However, the cooperation with Flotte Hamburg was very close and when covid struck, all the parties worked together to overcome the issues that arose.”

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