Construction of Estonia’s first biofuel-powered workboat well underway

The construction of Estonia’s first biofuel-powered multi-purpose workboat is well underway.

The shipbuilding project hit a key milestone 3 months ago, on December 18, with the keel-laying ceremony at Damen Shipyards Gdansk in Poland.

Since then, major hull construction has been ongoing, while superstructure work kicked off in January at the Baltic Workboats shipyard in Saaremaa, Estonia.

The project is currently in the “early middle phase,” focusing on the main hull components and superstructure. The next key milestones include assembling the hull blocks, welding inspections, and surface preparation for painting.

According to the Riigilaevastik (Estonian State Fleet), the new multi-purpose work vessel will provide greater capacity for regular buoy work, maintenance of shipping lanes/dredging, modern scientific research, organization of pollution control and rescue operations.

The new vessel is a €22 million investment co-funded by the EU NextGenerationEU recovery fund and national resources. It is designed and built by the Estonian company Baltic Workboats Ltd and will be completed in 2026.