Research boat delivered to the Arctic

Finnish boat builder Kewatec’s Norwegian subsidiary Martec delvered the Serecraft S14, which is powered by two Yanmar engines of 509 horsepower each and has been commissioned to carry out research assignments along the frozen coast of Svalbard.

The boat has been tested in temperatures of as low as -18^oC and among waves as high as three metres. 

“We have been able to test and establish that the driving characteristics and heating systems are functional,” said Kewatec project manager Markus Magnusson.

”As almost all our boats are custom made to purpose, even this boat to UNIS was first specified by the customer and during the build of the boat optimized to users’ new realizations.

”The heating systems onboard are made to meet both safety and comfort demands. For example, deck heating keeps the walking areas free of ice and snow even in -20 degrees and rough seas.

”The hull shape is optimized to “cut” through the waves without losing a good loading capacity. Also, there are a lot of prefitted brackets for the researcher’s equipment.

”We made some updates from being planned to be a daytime boat, so now it is possible to accommodate 6 – 8 persons for overnight journeys.”

The boat has been named Hanna Resvoll, after the first female scientist to visit and conduct studies around Svalbard in 1907.

Now the baton has been passed to the University Centre in Svalbard, which is the northernmost university in the world.

Hanna Resvoll was transported to Svalbard by sea freight from Tromsø, on the northwest tip of the Norwegian mainland, following a road trip from Porvoo in Finland, where she was built.

The delivery comes just a couple of weeks after Volvo Penta’s ground-breaking tourist boat was launched at Svalbard.