As part of the Port of Hamburg’s anniversary celebrations, Flotte Hamburg, the City of Hamburg’s startup that implements low-emission shipping solutions and operates the city’s inland vessels, has christened two hybrid police boats, ‘Bürgermeister Brauer’ and ‘Bürgermeister Weichmann.’
Both patrol boats, built at the Baltic Workboats shipyard in Estonia, were handed over to Flotte Hamburg in December 2024 and entered service in spring 2025.
As disclosed, they are equipped with an environmentally friendly plug-in hybrid drive. The electric motors, each with an output of 500 kW, reportedly enable the units to travel at a speed of seven knots for at least two hours on electric power alone.
Karsten Schönewald, Managing Director of Flotte Hamburg, stated: “With today’s double christening, we are sending a strong signal for modern, sustainable shipping in the Port of Hamburg. Flotte Hamburg has been pooling its municipal watercraft since 2017, and has already made significant progress. The use of hybrid watercrafts by the water police is a further measure to reduce emissions.”
Olaf Hagenloch, Deputy Chief of the Hamburg Water Police, commented: “The new boats are not only technical masterpieces, they are also a symbol of change. With the hybrid drive, we are actively protecting the environment – without compromising our operational capabilities. This is what sustainable and modern police work on the water looks like.”
To note, the Port of Hamburg seeks to become climate-neutral by 2040, and the promotion of sustainable technologies and energy sources is said to play a central role in this process.
At the beginning of 2025, the port welcomed its first of two new eco-friendly pilot ships. As informed, the vessel is equipped with the latest exhaust gas treatment technologies and runs on synthetic gas-to-liquid (GTL) fuel. In addition, it has been designed to be able to run on climate-neutral e-fuels in the future.
According to Melanie Leonhard, Hamburg’s Senator for Economic Affairs, emissions are being reduced by using modern technologies – “the new ships in the Hamburg fleet are protecting the climate by using advanced technology in the Port of Hamburg. This brings us one step closer to achieving our climate targets and reduces our dependence on fossil fuels.”