Imenco, from Tysvær in Norway, will move the Viking ships on Bygdøy in Oslo, Norway. Old Viking technology meets new technology. This is how Imenco’s new contract can be summarized.
The secured contract is out of the ordinary.
The company will secure and move the Viking ships Oseberg, Gokstad and Tune as well as other objects of significant historical value from the old to the new Viking Age Museum on Bygdøy, Oslo. The Viking ships form the core of the Norwegian Viking Age collection, and are the three best-preserved Viking ships in the world.
-This is a challenging job, which demands a high standard of equipment and employees. The project is followed with keen eyes all over the world and can open a new market for us if we succeed, says owner and manager of Imenco, Geir Egil Østebøvik.
An international group of experts concluded in 2012 that it was not prudent to move the ships to Bjørvika in Oslo. Instead, they will be moved from the museum on Bygdøy to a new museum building next door. The same will be done with three ancient and fragile sleds.
-No room for error!
The Viking ships will be moved from the old to the new, snail-shaped Viking Museum on Bygdøy, which will be built next door. (Illustrations: AART Architects/Statsbygg)
Statsbygg, the Norwegian government’s building commissioner, property manager and developer, has awarded the contract to Imenco. The work starts immediately and will be completed in three years. Director of Oil and Gas at Imenco, Rune Bringedal, who led the tender process, emphasized the importance of success:
-There is no room for error, he says.
-We have not moved Viking ships before, but we have moved a lot of other items which required considerable planning, care and attention. We won the contract because we have extremely talented people with unique expertise, he continues.
He confirms that it may be relevant to use new technology for the first time.
-We have knowledge and advanced equipment in the fields of monitoring, vibration damping, hydraulics and mechanics. Moving such fragile and significantly heavy constructions from A to B requires precision and care. We do not yet have the entire recipe, but in collaboration with Statsbygg we will work towards finding the optimal solution. We will build the necessary equipment and rigorously prove its operation in our own premises before we start the actual relocation in the summer of 2023, says Bringedal.
Leader of the Maritime Forum Haugalandet and Sunnhordaland, Sverre Meling Jr., points out how exciting the news is.
-It is fantastic that Imenco is going into this project. There are many indications that the Viking Ship Oseberg was made in our region. The fact that local expertise will be used to move these ships is absolutely incredible, comments Sverre Meling Jr.
Based on a Norwegian news story written by Maritime Forum Haugalandet and Sunnhordaland.
Contact us or Statsbygg to know more about the project.
Pontus Ekstam
Department Manager Imenco Projects
M: +47 969 80 887
Lars Christian Gomnæs
Project Manager Statsbygg
larschristian.gomnaes@statsbygg.no
Yngve Josephsen
Marketing Manager Imenco
T: +4752864152
Thale Berg Husby
Communication Manager Statsbygg
