University signs supplementary agreement for vessel delivery

The delivery of the university’s new vessel is delayed. The university has now come to an agreement with the Nauta shipyard on the terms for delivery of the vessel.

The delay has been caused by a number of problems that must be addressed before the vessel can go through sea trials and delivery. This includes subcontractor work on the ship’s propulsion system, stability measures, and reparation of the damage to the bow after the collision with the dock in August.

“We view the problem with the vessel’s propulsion as most critical, since the shipyard’s subcontractor cannot deliver a functioning system. Through the supplementary contract, we are providing the shipyard with an opportunity to solve the problem,” says Göran Hilmersson, dean and chair of the steering group for the vessel project.

The agreement contains details such as an updated job specification and a financial plan with specific terms and conditions. To this point, the university has paid four-fifth of the contract amount. If the shipyard successfully delivers the vessel fully in accordance with the university’s specifications, it will receive 85 per cent of the fifth payment, which equals 2,244,000 euros. The total value of the contract is 13,200,000 euros and the calculated daily cost of operations will not be impacted negatively by the agreement.

The new delivery date has been set for 2 April 2019. The agreement entitles the university to take possession of the ship in current condition if it is not completed by this date, which would mean that the ship would need to be completed by another shipyard.

The research vessel is an important and customised infrastructure for the university’s marine education and research.

“The new research vessel Skagerak is very well equipped and will offer new opportunities for measurements, observations and taking samples at sea to the benefit of both research and education. It will also be able to host significantly more researchers staying overnight than the old Skagerak – a total of 16. We also expect significant interest from external researchers and organisations that would want to use the ship and that new research collaborations can be initiated once we have access to this marine platform,” says Per Hall, deputy head of the Department of Marine Sciences.