The Lower Elbe near Brunsbüttel is considered to be the largest European pilot hub with around 100,000 transfers of the Kiel Canal I Pilots Brotherhood and the Elbe Pilots Brotherhood every year . As a replacement for three pilot boats over 50 years old, a new type of boat was developed that meets both the different requirement profiles of the pilot and the particularly pronounced water waves in the area. After several attempts with different types of boats, a design emerged that has already proven itself with the boats to be replaced: Heavy monohull boats that can also cope with rough seas and ice .
The contract to build the boats was awarded in January 2016 to the Swedish Dockstavarvet, which has already delivered six pilot boats of the Alupilot 17M class to the federal waterways and shipping administration. The steel hull of the two new boats was subcontracted by Rigas Kugu Buvetava in Riga . The transition for the pilots is located halfway along the ship, the calmest position on board. Below the navigating bridge there are two common rooms for the pilots and the crew.
units
The lead ship Dithmarschen was put into operation on December 15, 2017. The stone castle was followed on 29 June 2018. The christening of both units took place on July 3, 2018th
