Construction and commissioning The construction and commissioning of the
Nordic were a consequence of the
Pallas accident off
Amrum island in 1998 when the cargo vessel ran aground and lost a substantial amount of oil. Especially the Schutzgemeinschaft Deutsche Nordsee association and many other non-governmental organisations for the protection of the environment had worked towards the commissioning of a new
emergency tow vessel on the German North Sea coast. Constructions began on 27 October 2009 on the
P+S Werften yards, formerly known as Peene-Werft, in
Wolgast,
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, with yard number 563. Sea trials were held in October 2010. In the course of these trials, the
Nordic delivered a
bollard pull of 207 tons (ca. 2,030
kN). After its completion on 15 November 2010 and the christening on 8 December 2010 by Susanne Ramsauer, the wife of Federal German Minister of Transport
Peter Ramsauer, the ship replaced the
salvage tug Oceanic which was decommissioned after 41 years in service on New Year's Day 2011. Unofficially, the construction costs of the
Nordic were said to have been about
€ 50 million. The operational base is
Cuxhaven on the mouth of the river
Elbe. With a maximum speed of In 2017, the Nordic was deployed to the “Glory Amsterdam” accident. The Chinese captain of the damaged ship initially did not recognize the
Nordic as an emergency vehicle of the Federal Republic of Germany. In 2019 the ship was given a
black, red and gold identification on the side. == Engine and propulsion ==