On August 12, the work vessel Kratt was christened at the Baltic Workboats shipyard on the island of Saaremaa. It is the first large work vessel of the Estonian State Fleet to run on biomethane, supplemented by a battery pack for electric propulsion. Starting in the autumn, the ship will lay and maintain buoys, monitor waterways, support marine research, and, where necessary, take action against marine pollution.
The fuel comes from the island itself. Manure from Saaremaa dairy farms is transported by tanker truck to the biogas plant in Tahula, where the biogas is upgraded to compressed biomethane. According to plant manager Lauri Jasmin, five truckloads of manure are needed for one container of fuel, which roughly corresponds to the daily production of one and a half large dairy farms. The ship has three containers on board and has a second set of three, so that a supply can always be replenished elsewhere in Estonia. In July, project leader Rando Varblane called that container system the distinguishing element of the setup in an interview with Estonian broadcaster ERR.
What the ship can
The Kratt is 38 meters long and 10 meters wide, with a working draft of 2,5 meters. Four gas generators each deliver 350 kilowatts, and the speed reaches up to eleven knots. On biomethane, the ship achieves up to one thousand nautical miles at seven knots. The 400-kilowatt-hour battery pack enables two hours of sailing on electricity at five knots, or ten hours at anchor without the auxiliary engines needing to run. This saves fuel, reduces emissions, and minimizes noise during research work.
There is room on board for six crew members and ten researchers. There is approximately fifty square meters of wet and dry laboratory space, with a seawater flow system and sampling facilities. The deck is configured for deploying and retrieving measuring equipment, buoys, and seabed stations, and the crane lifts fifteen tons three meters from the side. With ice class 1C, the ship can penetrate forty centimeters of solid ice. It can remain at sea for seven days without resupply. In addition, the Kratt accounts for a quarter of Estonia's pollution control capacity.
Testbed for shipping
Riigilaevastik placed the order with Baltic Workboats in January 2024. Design and construction took thirty months and cost approximately 22 million euros. According to the press release, the project is fully funded by the European recovery instrument NextGenerationEU. It is the first large work vessel ordered by the Estonian state in ten years; the previous one, the hydrographic vessel Jakob Prei, came from a German shipyard in 2014.
Director-General Andres Laasma of Riigilaevastik added a sober caveat to the technology. Compressed biomethane has proven itself on land, he told ERR, but not yet at sea. He envisions a role for the national fleet as a testing ground to show the market which techniques are reliable. Margus Vanaselja, Chairman of the Board of Baltic Workboats, calls the combination of biomethane and electric propulsion unique in the world in the press release. He told ERR that he expects sales in countries such as Norway. According to Vanaselja, only a few ships worldwide currently run on biomethane. Independent confirmation that this is a world first is currently lacking.
The ship owes its name to a nationwide competition for which 2.285 proposals were received. The crate is a figure from Estonian folklore who completes all assigned tasks.
Source and photo: Riigilaevastik
