The coast guard vessel (Kustbevakningen Vessel) KBV 033 was handed over to the Swedish Coast Guard with a reflagging ceremony at dock three of the Peene shipyard in Wolgast. A special day for P+S Werften, currently under insolvency administration: Initially the Swedish Coast Guard placed an order for a total of four newly built KBVs in 2008; but in the context of insolvency proceedings, the Peene shipyard could not fulfill the order completely without a new agreement. Two of the coast guard vessels were already delivered in June and July of 2012. The new contract for the completion of the two remaining vessels in this series was negotiated with the Swedish Coast Guard by Dr. Tobias Brinkmann, of insolvency administrators Brinkmann & Partner, and Axel Schulz, of P+S Werften GmbH, and was concluded in November 2012. Following today’s delivery of the newly built KBV 033, the newly built KBV 034 is to be delivered to the Coast Guard in April.
On the occasion of the reflagging ceremony, Commodore Åke Dagnevik, director of new building at the Swedish Coast Guard said, "The coast guard vessel handed over to us today proves that with the quality of its shipbuilding and the experience and expertise of its team, the Peene shipyard is well-equipped for the future. We originally awarded the contract to build the coast guard vessels to the Peene shipyard in 2008 and re-signed it a year ago because we are convinced of the work of the team and the quality of the shipyard. Over the years, we have worked closely with the shipyard and have always had a team of around six engineers from the Swedish Coast Guard on site. This enabled us to further specify our requirements as time went by and, along with the team at the Peene shipyard, implement them more precisely in every process and detail. Coast guard vessel KBV 033, which we are receiving now, is the most sophisticated of this series so far."
At the reflagging ceremony, in the presence of the Swedish client, the management and employees of the shipyard, the flag of the shipping company and the Swedish national flag were hoisted.
"I would like to thank the Swedish Coast Guard for their confidence in the Peene shipyard and the great expertise of their employees. We are pleased that we were able to successfully renew the contract in the context of the insolvency proceedings and, in doing so, to secure employment for the Peene shipyard," explained Dr. Tobias Brinkmann from the insolvency administrators Brinkmann & Partner at the reflagging ceremony in Wolgast. "The completion of the third coast guard vessel, handed over today, and the fourth, which is scheduled for delivery in a few weeks, are important milestones for P+S Werften at this time. Both demonstrate the high level of performance of the Peene shipyard and its employees."
The Peene shipyard in Wolgast, which currently has 400 employees, will be taken over by the Lürssen Group of Bremen on 1 May, 2013. During the past week, the Federal Cartel Office issued clearance for acquisition.
"We are shipbuilders with passion and expertise. The Peene shipyard represents decades of experience and a high degree of specialization in building ships for the navy and the authorities," said Axel Schulz, the representative of the insolvency administrator, during the reflagging ceremony. "We are pleased to be able to prove this once again with today's successful handover of the coast guard vessel
KBV 033."
After the reflagging, the vessel will remain in Wolgast for a few weeks. The future crews will initially undergo training here, before the new vessel is then expected to leave the Peene shipyard in April. It will then be headed for its future home port of Oskarshamn on the east coast of Sweden.
Coast guard vessel KBV 033 (Kustbevakningen Vessel)
The coast guard vessel KBV 033 is the third in a series of four vessels that the Swedish Coast Guard has commissioned from P+S WERFTEN. The approx. 52 metre long and 10 metre wide special purpose vessels will be deployed by the Swedish Coast Guard to cover their whole range of tasks, such as monitoring shipping traffic in coastal areas, border security, the customs service and fishery protection.
Furthermore, thanks to specialist equipment the "Swedish Coast Guard Multi-Purpose Ship KBV", is capable of fighting fires at sea and in port, carrying out search and rescue (SAR) and disaster operations for cleaning up oil spills. The coast guard vessels are designed and built for a service life of 30 years. The new vessels will be able to operate in the Baltic Sea, the Gulf of Bothnia, in the Skagerrak and Kattegat, as well as on the second and third largest Swedish lakes, Vänern and Mälaren, as well as in European coastal areas, even in winter conditions at outside temperatures down to -25°C.
Coast guard vessel KBV 034
The next ship, the KBV 034, is on schedule at the Peene shipyard in Wolgast. It is to go on technical sea trials in March and will be handed over to the Swedish Coast Guard in April.