Zug, 18.01.2022

Volunteer fire brigade urgently needs a new boat

The repair costs for the currently used boat from the year 2000 significantly exceeds its current value.

The Volunteer Fire Brigade of the City of Zug (FFZ: Freiwillige Feuerwehr der Stadt Zug) is the owner of two boats on Lake Zug: the motorboats “Kolin 10” and “Kolin 18”. The latter is specialised for tackling oil leaks, and has been in use on Lake Zug since 1983. The “Kolin 10”. Is somewhat younger. As Urs Raschle, head of social affairs, environment and security in the Zug city council (Stadtrat), explains, it has become necessary to find a replacement for "Kolin 10" as soon as possible. The official call for offers is available on the simap.ch  platform.

At first glance, it seems surprising that the younger boat of the FFZ has to be replaced. Urs Raschle brings light into the darkness: "The boat has more operating hours than the older, simpler oil weir boat." But the operating hours are only one aspect with regard to a new purchase: "In recent years, repair and maintenance costs have increased massively," adds Raschle and this has led to days and weeks of downtime in the shipyard. A boat with this problem can "no longer be operated as a reliable means of operation".

The boat ‘Kolin 10’ of the Volunteer Fire Brigade Zug (here at an Adventure Day in 2016) has become obsolete                                                                                                       Photo: Roger Zbinden

The boat, which was used by the Zug police until 2011, is in a poor condition, and the high repair costs would now clearly exceed the current value of the vessel. The FFZ took over the boat from the City Police of Zug in the same year, 2011, at the time that the City Police force was incorporated into the Zug Police.

Foreign providers can also participate
According to the type description, the FFZ boat was manufactured by the Fairlane company in Oundle, UK. But this company has a different name today, and belongs to a Russian investor.

The tender documents show what the new boat must be able to do. Urs Raschle, city councillor of Zug, only mentions a few criteria: "The boat is to be used for technical assistance and firefighting on Lake Zug, and it must also be able to manoeuvre safely, even in heavy seas." It should also be possible operate this boat in the winter, and it should be able to transport up to nine persons. As the Submission Act (Submissionsgesetz) will apply to this procurement, foreign providers can also take part in the bidding competition, although the required configuration is likely to limit the number of applicants. If a ready-made boat  is selected, this would then simply have to be modified according to the wishes of the customer.

Urs Raschle hopes that the new boat will be ready for use on Lake Zug in the coming year. The new fire brigade boat is to be moored in the boathouse in Zug's old town, like the current one. In the event of floods, a place for the new boat will be reserved in Zug's boat harbour. It’s also possible that the FFZ can give its new vessel a different name than "Kolin 19". After all, there was only one Peter Kolin, the famous Zug Bannerherr and Ammann. The current boat originally bore the name ‘Magellan’.