The steel hull arrived from Poland this week. Once completed, the workboat will be used for waterway management, buoy work, marine research and monitoring, and pollution response.

State Fleet director general Andres Laasma said the ship will be an "indispensable multipurpose work vessel for us." He added that it has to support all of Estonia's marine research needs and will also be a major boost to the country's pollution response capacity.

A key feature is its fuel system. The vessel is designed to run on biomethane, which in Estonia can be produced from pig and cattle manure and transported in modular fuel cassettes to ports. Biomethane is said to be cost-competitive with fossil fuels.

"This may be the very first vessel fully designed to use biomethane as its primary fuel," Laasma said.

He noted that it is a local energy source and described the modular cassette system that allows compressed gas tanks to be loaded on and off the ship, refilled across the country, and hauled by regular road transport. With those cassettes, the vessel should cover 1,000 nautical miles.

Batteries will also provide backup propulsion. Laasma said the design reflects current challenges in shipbuilding, where innovation is essential.

Baltic Workboats has also embraced that shift. "We have hydrogen, we have hybrid vessels, we have biomethane vessels and battery vessels," said CEO Margus Vanaselja. Developing these technologies, he added, is a major challenge.

This year has been productive for the company, with €60 million in output awaiting delivery to clients. At the same time, criminal proceedings against the shipyard remain ongoing.
BW on tänavu olnud produktiivne tööaasta ja praegu on ootamas toodangut tellijatele üle andmiseks 60 miljoni euro eest. Samas on jätkuvalt pooleli kriminaalmenetlus laevatehase suhtes.

"That certainly doesn't help us," Vanaselja added. "It doesn't help us, and it doesn't help Estonian exports."

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and X and never miss an update!