New working boat extends research possibilities in coastal research

The Thünen Institute of Baltic Sea Fisheries has placed a new working boat in service. The boat was baptised on June 7^th, 2016 and carries the name “Belone” – the genus name of the garfish, an important predator in the Baltic coastal ecosystem.

The new boat is a 7.50 m aluminium catamaran built by Faster Boats in Finland, it replaces a rigid inflatable boat of the same name. It provides a much better working platform for our coastal research, specifically because there is much more open deck space and a number of winches and frames available. Propulsion is by means of two outboarders, which reduces maintenance cost and offers redundancy. The new boat also has a sheltered helmstand.

“Belone” extends the range of our research vessel fleet into the inner coastal waters.