Four new tugboats have been delivered to the navy by the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration during a ceremony at Karlskrona naval base. The boats, which are part of the navy's new logistics concept, are a part of the ongoing capability development within the Swedish Armed Forces and will be used at the military bases in Karlskrona and Haninge, the authorities report.

During the ceremony, the tugboats were christened, with the king's approval, as HMS Hermes, Hera, Hebe, and Heros. They will perform tasks such as towing ships, icebreaking, and shifting within harbour and shipyard areas. The new vessels have already begun to be used in regular operations during ongoing naval exercises.

– With these tugboats, the Swedish Armed Forces receive modern and powerful vessels, says Susanne Nordman, project manager at FMV, in the agency's press release.

With a length of 16.99 metres and a weight of 115 tonnes, the vessels have a towing capacity of 12 tonnes. They are built by the supplier Damen Shipyards and designed to handle various operational tasks within the Navy's base battalions.