Two Estonian shipbuilding companies have signed a €55 million contract to construct the hull of an 80-metre pilot base vessel commissioned by Vloot DAB, Belgium’s state-owned fleet operator.
The vessel will measure 80 metres in length with a beam of 13.3 metres. It is designed to maintain speeds of up to 14 knots in sea states with significant wave heights of up to 2.8 metres, with particular emphasis placed on seakeeping performance and crew comfort.
The hull will be built by Baltic Workboats and Western Baltija Shipbuilding, the latter a Lithuanian subsidiary of the Estonian industrial group BLRT Grupp.
“This marks a major milestone for Baltic Workboats as the largest vessel ever undertaken by the company,” Margus Vanaselja, the CEO of Baltic Workboats, said in a statement.
Fully customised, environmentally friendly
Designed for a crew of 20, the vessel will also accommodate up to 12 pilots – ten as standard, with capacity for two additional personnel depending on operational requirements. The platform will be fully customised to meet the client’s specifications and will feature an environmentally friendly propulsion system, including an Energy Storage System enabling fully electric operation.
The total value of the project is estimated at approximately €55 million.
Baltic Workboats, based in Saaremaa, is an Estonian-owned shipbuilder specialising in high-tech workboats for clients around the world.
BLRT Grupp, headquartered in Tallinn, is a shipbuilding and industrial group with operations across the Baltic and Nordic regions. In addition to Estonia, it owns shipyards in Lithuania, Finland and Norway. Its shipbuilding and repair subsidiaries include Tallinn Shipyard, BLRT Western Shipyard, Turku Repair Yard and BLRT Fiskerstrand.
