German patrol boat Bad Bramstedt

History
Germany
Name	Bad Bramstedt
Namesake	Bramstedt Mountain
Ordered	July 2000
Builder	Yantar Shipyard
Launched	16 November 2001
Commissioned	19 November 2002
Status	In service
General characteristics
Class & type	Bad Bramstedt-class patrol vessel
Length	65.75 m (215 ft 9 in)
Beam	10.6 m (34 ft 9 in)
Draught	3.4 m (11 ft 2 in)
Propulsion	1 × MTU 16V1163 diesel engine 1 × 600 kW diesel-electric auxiliary motor
Speed	22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph)
Complement	14
Aircraft carried	NH 90 helicopter
Aviation facilities	Helipad

Bad Bramstedt (BP 24) is an offshore patrol vessel operated by the German Federal Police.^[1] She is the lead vessel of the Bad Bramstedt class and is homeported at Neustadt in Holstein. She is tasked with maritime law enforcement, border protection, and environmental monitoring in the North Sea and Baltic Sea.^[1] The vessel is named after the town of Bad Bramstedt in Schleswig-Holstein, which serves as the administrative headquarters of the Federal Police's maritime division, and sometimes serves out of Cuxhaven in the German Bight.^[2]

The Bad Bramstedt-class patrol vessel were ordered in July 2000 by the German Federal Border Guard, which was reorganized in July 2005. The hull was prefabricated at Yantar Shipyard, Kaliningrad, and was further outfitted at Abeking & Rasmussen in Lemwerder, Germany. She was launched on 16 November 2001, and commissioned on 19 November 2002.^[1] The goal of the vessel class was to replace the aging Neustadt-class vessels, and the class has received few upgrades and overhauls since their launchings.

The vessel was assessed at 1,030 GT (1.03×10¹⁶ G) and has a full displacement of 880 tonnes (870 long tons). She has a length of 65.75 m (215 ft 9 in), with a beam of 10.6 m (34 ft 9 in) and a draft of roughly 3.4 m (11 ft 2 in). Her propulsion is provided by a single MTU 16V1163 diesel engine generating 5,200 kW (7,000 hp) and a single 600 kW diesel-electric auxiliary motor for economical cruising. Her primary engine allows her to reach roughly 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph) while her secondary engines can allow for roughly 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph). She is crewed by a complement of 14 personnel, with extra berths and amenities for extra crew or passengers if needed. The vessel features a helipad, capable of handling a single NH-90 helicopter.^[3] Her deep-V hull and aluminum-alloy structure allows for more stable sea worthiness in heavy seas. She does not feature a permanent fixed armament, but her crew does carry individual small arms, including the H&K P30 service pistol, the H&K MP5 submachine gun, and the H&K G36 rifle.^[4]

Her mission includes maritime border protection, pollution control, fishery inspection, and coastal patrol within Germany's exclusive economic zone in the North and Baltic seas.^[3] Although the vessel is part of the Federal Police, she makes up part of the force under the German Coast Guard, along other vessel from the Water Customs, the Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration, and the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food.^[5] In June 2021, the vessel participated in the large-scale exercise ATLAS Seal 2021, where she trained alongside EU police partners against terroristic threats in the North Baltic Sea. In June 2024, she partook in UEFA Euro 2024, a multi-national maritime exercise, supporting Schengen border controls.^[6] In November 2024, the vessel was deployed to surveil the Chinese-owned Yi Peng 3, after the freighter was suspected of having sabotaged an undersea cable in the area. She served alongside the Danish frigate HDMS Hvidbjørnen.^[7] The vessel is also responsible for providing as a training platform and participating in simulation acts coordinated through the Maritimes Schulungs- und Trainingszentrum.