HamburgNew police boat with hybrid drive

Jill Grigoleit

 · 06.12.2024

The new "Bürgermeister Brauer" was welcomed in the port of Hamburg on Thursday
Photo: dpa/pa
Hamburg's water police have a new patrol boat. Hamburg's first hybrid police boat is the start of the renewal of the Hamburg fleet, which is to become climate-neutral by 2040.

After a construction period of almost two years at the Estonian shipyard Baltic Workboats AS, the "Bürgermeister Brauer" was transferred to Germany by sea and greeted yesterday with a traditional wet welcome from a fire brigade fireboat in Hamburg harbour. The "Bürgermeister Brauer" replaces its predecessor of the same name, which had been in service since 1992.


Read more about the work of the waterway police:


The city has invested almost nine million euros in the construction of the new police flagship. It is 29.40 metres long and 7.44 metres wide. The special feature: the plug-in hybrid drive. Two 500 kW electric motors enable purely electric operation for at least two hours at a speed of up to seven knots. The new police boat can reach a maximum speed of 25 knots. The special bow ensures that the vessel is particularly stable even in rough seas. An automatic trim system reduces energy and fuel consumption.

Hamburg harbour fleet to become climate-neutral

A total of three of these environmentally friendly police boats are to be integrated into Hamburg's fleet in the coming year. "We are using modern technologies to reduce emissions - the new ships in the Hamburg fleet are helping to protect the climate through advanced technology in the port," said Senator for Economic Affairs Melanie Leonhard at the ship's launch. The long-term goal is to operate the city's fleet of ships in a climate-neutral manner by 2040. In the coming months, the crew will be familiarised with their new workplace on board. From spring 2025, the new "Bürgermeister Brauer", named after the SPD politician Max Brauer, will be deployed on the Lower Elbe and in the North Sea region. It will be officially christened at the harbour birthday in May.

Jill Grigoleit

Jill Grigoleit

Editor Travel

Jill Grigoleit was born in Hanover in 1985. An early childhood memory is the large collection of YACHT and SURF magazines from her sailing and surfing enthusiast father. However, growing up in a small Swabian village on the Neckar, she had less to do with water sports in her childhood, apart from a few trips to the Baltic Sea with her family. After studying journalism in Bremen and Hanover, she went into television for a few years. Through a few lucky coincidences, she ended up on the water in 2011 and then returned to the written word professionally. For over ten years, she lived with her family on a houseboat in their own harbor south of Hamburg and wrote a book about houseboat building and life with children on the water. Since 2020, she has mainly been writing travel reports and features about people who live and work on and near the water for BOOTE. She has been a permanent member of the Delius Klasing water sports editorial team since January 2024.

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