Kewatecs largest and most complicated vessel ever has been delivered

The hybrid vessel e-Work 2390 Survey, manufactured by Kewatec Aluboat, has been handed over to the Geological Survey of Norway (NGU) in Trondheim, Norway. The total length of the boat is 23.9 meters long and is the first vessel registered as an IMO-registered ship built by Kewatec.

NGU’s new vessel “Geologen” has been christened yesterday. Both Minister for Business Jan Christian Vestre and Mayor Rita Ottervik took part in the solemn event in Trondheim, Norway. The vessel's godmother was NGU's director May Britt Myhr, who was responsible for the official christening by throwing seawater on the hull.

"Geologen" is a high-tech, world-class work tool that will provide us with critical geological data for many years to come. It has great value for future business development, social security, land management, and the natural diversity along our coast says Minister for Business Jan Christian Vestre.

The vessel e-Work 2390 Survey has been built for research purposes and will be used to map and study the seabed's geological details. The vessel is equipped with extremely accurate equipment to survey the seabed of the Norwegian fjords and coastal zone with depths down to 1300 meters. It has two multibeam echo sounders, a sub-bottom profiler, and seismic equipment to map the seabed and the geology beneath the seabed. The vessel also has an ROV (remotely operated underwater vehicle) which will be used to study the seabed in detail. The ROV can be operated with the help of an A-frame on the aft deck. The vessel’s Dynamic Position function allows the vessel to track the ROV.

Kewatec e-Work 2390 Survey is 23.9 meters long, and 6 meters wide, with 2 x 670 Kw diesel engines and a total of 200 Kw electric motors. The vessel has a top speed of just under 20 knots and Controlled Pitch Propellers. The vessel has a kitchen, four cabins, a dry lab, a wet laboratory, where samples are examined, a storage room, and a day room.

“NGU's expectations for environmental friendliness and high functionality were positively challenging and resulted in completely new, unique solutions for, among other things, the propulsion package and measuring equipment, as well as the integration of the onboard systems. We managed to identify and collaborate with several Norwegian suppliers, who at the same time provide local service and maintenance in the coming years,” says Kewatecs CEO, Kent Björklund, who continues:

“Our customer has been professional, understanding, and solution-oriented, and the spirit of cooperation has been exceptionally good. NGU's choice of a knowledgeable consultancy agency, Transportutvikling, greatly contributed to everything going well. At the same time, I would like to thank the employees at the shipyard, who have worked with passion for the project, thus achieving good results.”

The boat will be using diesel engines for transfer to and from work areas. When performing surveys, the ship can be operated with only electric power. The main purpose of electric drives is to reduce environmental impact and minimize any noise and vibrations to achieve extremely accurate survey results.

Project Manager Håkan Gustafsson is pleased and proud of the vessel. "I had a good feeling about making the vessel, the project progressed well, and the most important thing is that the customer is satisfied," Gustafsson says.

The ship was driven from Porvoo, Finland to Norway, Trondheim, and handed over to the customer on January 26th, 2023. On March 20th, the ship was christened and named "Geologen".