The Baltic is a German emergency tow vessel

Emergency tow vessel

An emergency tow vessel, also called emergency towing vessel, is a multi purpose boat used by state authorities to tow disabled vessels on high seas in order to prevent dangers to man and environment...

 (ETV) commissioned in 2010.

The vessel which was built in Spain by Astilleros Armon is owned by Arbeitsgemeinschaft Küstenschutz of Germany, a consortium of tugboat companies. The Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development of Germany has chartered the vessel to protect the German coastline. The Baltic replaced the tugboat Fairplay 26 as an ETV and operates from Warnemünde

Warnemünde

Warnemünde is a sea resort and northmost district of Rostock in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, situated on the Baltic Sea in the northeast of Germany at the estuary of the river Warnow.- History :...

 in the western Baltic Sea

Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...

. She was commissioned on 24 September 2010.

The Baltic features a bollard pull

Bollard pull

Bollard pull is a value that allows the comparison of the pulling force of watercraft, particularly tugboats. A mooring bollard may be used as a point of attachment for measuring the force, or pull of the craft.-Background:...

 of 127 tons and a maximum speed of 17 knots (9.3 m/s).

In October 2010, only a few days after commissioning, the Baltic was deployed to assist during the fire on the ferry Lisco Gloria off the island of Fehmarn

Fehmarn

Fehmarn is an island and - since 2003 - a town on this island in the Baltic Sea, off the eastern coast of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, and ca. 18 kilometers south of the Danish island of Lolland...

.

Engine

The Baltic is driven by two main engines of the General Electric

General Electric

General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...

 16V250MDB3 type which are connected to two Schottel controllable pitch propeller

Controllable pitch propeller

A controllable pitch propeller or variable pitch propeller is a type of propeller with blades that can be rotated around their long axis to change their pitch...

s via transmissions

Transmission (mechanics)

A machine consists of a power source and a power transmission system, which provides controlled application of the power. Merriam-Webster defines transmission as: an assembly of parts including the speed-changing gears and the propeller shaft by which the power is transmitted from an engine to a...

 and drive shafts. The engines are 16-cylinder Diesel units which can provide 4239 kW each at a nominal 1,050 revolutions per minute

Revolutions per minute

Revolutions per minute is a measure of the frequency of a rotation. It annotates the number of full rotations completed in one minute around a fixed axis...

. The propellers are encased in Kort nozzle

Kort nozzle

The Kort nozzle is a shrouded, ducted propeller assembly for marine propulsion. The hydrodynamic design of the shroud, which is shaped like a foil, offers advantages for certain conditions over bare propellers....

s and have a maximum revolution speed of 170 rpm. Two thrusters

Bow thruster

A bow thruster is a transversal propulsion device built into, or mounted to, the bow of a ship or boat to make it more maneuverable. Bow thrusters make docking easier, since they allow the captain to turn the vessel to port or starboard without using the main propulsion mechanism which requires...

 are installed in the bow and the stern section respectively to improve the ship's manoeuvrability.

To provide electrical power, two generators with a power of 1,500 kVA

Volt-ampere

A volt-ampere is the unit used for the apparent power in an electrical circuit, equal to the product of root-mean-square voltage and RMS current. In direct current circuits, this product is equal to the real power in watts...

 each are coupled to the drive shafts. Additionally two main generators of 500 kVA and an emergency power unit (150 kVA) are installed on board.

Equipment

When commissioned, the Baltic was the most powerful tugboat along the German Baltic Sea coast. For towing tasks, the ship is equipped with two hydraulic winch

Winch

A winch is a mechanical device that is used to pull in or let out or otherwise adjust the "tension" of a rope or wire rope . In its simplest form it consists of a spool and attached hand crank. In larger forms, winches stand at the heart of machines as diverse as tow trucks, steam shovels and...

es. The towline has a diametre of 62 mm and a length of 500 m. Two fire monitors

Deluge gun

A deluge gun, fire monitor, master stream, or deck gun is an aimable controllable high-capacity water jet used for manual firefighting or automatic fire protection systems. Fire monitors are often designed to accommodate foam which has been injected in the upstream piping...

are installed on board.