Finnish shipbuilder Uudenkaupungin Työvene Oy has delivered the SWATH vessel CASTOR to her home port of Neustadt in Holstein, northern Germany. The vessel was handed over on 30 October 2026 on behalf of the German Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) for service with the German Navy.
CASTOR is designed to carry up to 60 people. She will move military personnel from the EAZS M facility in Neustadt to naval units operating in Lübeck Bay, giving the navy a dedicated shuttle between the shore base and larger vessels at sea. The vessel is fitted with a personnel transfer system that the yard says was designed and built specifically for operations at sea, using suppliers from Finland’s maritime industry.
SWATH stands for Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull. The design places two submerged hulls below the waterline, connected to the main body by slender struts. The smaller waterplane area reduces the vessel’s response to waves compared with conventional hulls, which the builder says improves motion characteristics and comfort. That matters when people have to transfer between vessels alongside one another in open water.
According to the yard, CASTOR is the third vessel in a series of five SWATH vessels it is building for different customers. The company did not name the other customers in its release.
“The delivery of CASTOR is an important achievement for our team and a further demonstration of our capabilities in SWATH vessel design and construction,” said Juha Granqvist, CEO of Uudenkaupungin Työvene. He added that the vessel will support the German Navy’s personnel transport needs in Lübeck Bay.
CASTOR will operate in the western Baltic Sea. Uudenkaupungin Työvene is based in Uusikaupunki on Finland’s south-west coast.
