The museum signed a contract Tuesday with Latvian shipbuilder Invessel to build the new vessel. The catamaran will feature a spacious aft deck for diving operations as well as a crane. The museum's former research vessel, Mare, has stood as an exhibit at Seaplane Harbour since 2018.

Estonian Maritime Museum board member Urmas Dresen noted that 2028 will mark 50 years of the museum's underwater archaeology activities.

Mare was used for more than marine archaeology. In August 2005, under the command of Vello Mäss, the vessel transported Estonian divers to the wreck of the Copterline Sikorsky helicopter that crashed into the sea near Aegna.

Mare served the Maritime Museum from 1982 onward.

Construction of the new catamaran is expected to begin with a keel-laying ceremony in February. The vessel will cost about €1 million and is scheduled for completion in 2028.

According to Dresen, the project will be funded entirely from the Estonian Maritime Museum's budget.

"We do not have any support funds," he said.

Once the vessel is completed, a naming competition will be held.

Dresen noted that, unlike the Navy and the State Fleet, which often wait years for new ships and have struggled to secure funding for an icebreaker, the Maritime Museum benefits from purchasing smaller vessels.

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