A globally unique 38-metre multi-purpose workboat, KRATT, has been completed at Baltic Workboats’ Nasva shipyard. From autumn, the vessel will carry out a wide range of maritime tasks in Estonian waters, from buoy handling and fairway maintenance to marine research, pollution response and rescue operations.
Yesterday, on 12 August, KRATT was christened at our shipyard in Saaremaa. It is Estonia’s first large workboat to use biomethane as its primary fuel and is also equipped with a battery bank for electric propulsion. The new vessel will strengthen the state’s ability to carry out a wide range of maritime tasks while reducing the environmental impact of fleet operations.
Estonia’s Minister of Infrastructure Kuldar Leis noted at the christening ceremony that KRATT marks a significant milestone in Estonia’s transition towards more sustainable shipping and sets a strong example for others. “The new vessel is a good example of how the state fleet can be renewed to become both more capable and more environmentally friendly at the same time. We need to develop our fleet intelligently – one vessel must be able to perform as many different tasks as possible while doing so with a smaller environmental impact. I am particularly pleased that this innovative workboat was designed and built here in Estonia,” Leis said.
Design and construction
KRATT is one of Baltic Workboats’ largest and most technologically exciting projects to date. We designed and built the vessel for the Estonian State Fleet at our Nasva shipyard in Saaremaa.
“During the vessel’s construction, it was important to find a solution that would combine the high operational capability and versatility of a workboat with a reduced environmental impact. Combining biomethane and electric power provides strong opportunities for this and makes the vessel’s solutions unique on a global scale,” said Margus Vanaselja, Chairman of the Management Board of Baltic Workboats.
The new vessel’s primary fuel is compressed biomethane (CBM), and it is equipped with a 400 kWh battery bank. On biomethane, the vessel can travel up to 1,000 nautical miles at a speed of seven knots. On battery power, it can operate for up to two hours at five knots. The battery bank also allows the vessel to use electric power for up to ten hours while at anchor, reducing the need to run auxiliary engines as well as fuel consumption, emissions and noise levels.
Estonian State Fleet’s first major workboat in over ten years
According to Andres Laasma, Director General of the Estonian State Fleet, the gradual renewal of the state-owned fleet is essential to ensure the country’s ability to carry out its maritime duties.
“Our main workboats today are on average 30-40 years old, and maintaining their reliability is becoming more difficult and costly year by year. The new workboat KRATT will help ease this situation, as it is a multi-purpose vessel capable of performing a wide range of tasks,” Laasma said.
According to Laasma, for a small country it is important to develop its fleet in a way that avoids vessels spending most of the year idle at the quay.
“We need to move from single-purpose vessels to multi-purpose vessels, because it does not make sense to invest millions in ships that can be used for only one task,” Laasma added.
KRATT is the first major workboat ordered by the state in the past ten years. The most recent major workboat currently in service with the Estonian State Fleet that was purchased by the state is the hydrographic survey vessel Jakob Prei, completed in Germany in 2014.
A versatile platform for modern scientific research and other tasks
The vessel’s primary task is seasonal buoy and fairway maintenance, but it also serves as an important platform for modern marine research. The vessel is suitable for environmental, oceanographic, hydrographic and geological surveys throughout the Baltic Sea.
The vessel provides accommodation for six crew members and ten scientists. It also includes a mess, recreation and fitness room, galley, utility and office spaces, and laboratories.
Scientists have access to approximately 50 m² of wet and dry laboratory space equipped with the vessel’s permanently installed research systems and equipment, including a seawater flow-through system, sampling equipment, workstations and connection options for additional equipment.
The deck is equipped with the systems and fittings needed to launch and recover research equipment, containers, buoys and seabed stations. The vessel can support activities including water and sediment sampling, seabed sonar surveys, towing research equipment, the use of remotely operated and autonomous equipment, and meteorological and biological observations. Without resupply, the vessel can operate at sea for up to seven days.
“The new vessel will be responsible for an impressive range of tasks,” Laasma commented. Among its other duties, the vessel will also provide 25% of Estonia’s pollution response capability. For pollution response operations, the vessel carries mobile and portable equipment for containment and recovery.
A fitting name chosen through a nationwide naming competition
The Estonian State Fleet’s new vessel received its name through a nationwide naming competition, which attracted a record 2,285 suggestions. After reviewing all proposals and their explanations, the six-member jury unanimously concluded that KRATT was the most suitable name for the new workboat.
“In Estonian cultural tradition, the kratt is known as a tireless character that can handle every task it is given. That is exactly what a good workboat should be like – ready to go to sea when needed and get every necessary job done,” said jury member, actor and maritime enthusiast Marko Matvere.
The vessel’s godmother is marine scientist Riina Otsason, who holds a doctoral degree from the Estonian Maritime Academy at TalTech. She was pleased that the new vessel will create more versatile opportunities for marine research in the future while also being able to perform many other essential tasks at sea.
“In that sense, KRATT is a very fitting and distinctly Estonian name – the vessel must be hardworking, persistent and versatile, and it should never run out of work at sea,” Otsason said.
KRATT was also one of the most popular suggestions in the competition: the same name was proposed by 19 people.
Design and construction costs totalled nearly EUR 22 million
The vessel’s design and procurement contract was signed in January 2024. Design and construction works took 30 months.
The vessel’s design and construction costs totalled nearly EUR 22 million. The project was financed entirely through the European Union’s NextGenerationEU recovery fund.
Vessel specifications
Length: 38 m
Beam: 10 m
Draft: operating draft 2.5 m, maximum draft 3 m
Gas generator power: 4 x 350 kW
Speed: up to 11 knots
Crane capacity: lifting capacity of 15 tonnes at 3 metres from the vessel’s side
Ice class and ice-going capability: 1C; the vessel is capable of navigating through 40 cm of level ice at a speed of at least two knots
Photos author: Rober Markus Liiv
