Last spring, new knowledge was collected about the old Viking ship museum. The ship is stored in steel frames weighing approximately 50 tonnes. It turned out that the floor will not tolerate that load. The new knowledge meant that Statsbygg had to change its strategy. The moving of the ship will instead take place in crane lanes on the roof. In autumn 2022, it was estimated that moving ships and sleds 100 meters would cost NOK 269 million. The costs include materials, training and testing of equipment and the actual moving of three Viking ships and three Viking leaders. Today, the costs are significantly higher. New calculations show that the price tag is now up to NOK 550 million. – New excavation work Construction of a new Viking Age museum on Bygdøy is well under way. The actual moving of the three Viking ships from the old to the new museum is planned to start in September 2025. And the hope is that the museum can open to the public at the end of 2027. According to Statsbygg, which is responsible for the construction project, the early estimates were NOK 269 million based on an immature foundation. Lack of experience related to this type of work is, according to Statsbygg, also a reason why the price estimate has been grossly missed. – We have to consider that this project is groundbreaking work, says project manager at Statsbygg Lars Christian Gomnæs. It can be stated that moving fragile Viking ships that are more than a thousand years old is unique in a world context. And experience or references are also bad. – In the project, it is important that we ourselves acquire knowledge about this. It will be a work in progress when we work and get the details and solutions in place, says Gomnæs. TEK FORM: On the construction site of the new Viking Age museum, you can see the pit where the Oseberg ship will stand. Photo: Helga Tunheim / news Too heavy for the floor Earlier in the project, it was planned to transport the ship on rails along the floor. But it turned out that it would be next to impossible to secure the old deck if the ship was transported on rails. – The floor will not tolerate the load of the ship and the 50-tonne steel rigging in which the ship will be transported. It is also not possible to support the basement floor, which is on clay, says conservator at the Cultural History Museum David Hauer. Instead, Statsbygg has landed on level B, a crane runway in the roof, which is anchored in the foundation wall. The solution is to hoist the ships up and transport them in the air. CRANE TRACK: The plan shows the so-called A-frames that will be anchored to the wall. They will carry the crane track where the ship will be lifted up and transported into the new museum. Photo: Helga Tunheim / news – Unlucky for us The management at the cultural history museum, of which the Viking Times Museum is a part, is worried about the huge budget increase in the item that deals with moving the ship. – Now we have great understanding that it has been difficult to stipulate. We are also concerned that this will be well taken care of, says director of the cultural history museum Aud Tønnessen. The entire security project, of which the relocation itself is a part, had a budget of NOK 464 million in 2022. In April the following year, this item increased to NOK 825 million. In order to finance the increased costs in connection with the move, Statsbygg has received approval from the government to take 350 million from a buffer, money that the cultural history museum and director Aud Tønnessen would like to use for other things. – From our point of view, the problem is that we are left with a part of the museum that will not be completed, and which we have to finance. And right now we are experiencing that it is difficult to get political attention for it, says Tønessen. In 2022, the government made a number of cuts to the planned Viking Age museum. Kutta is connected to the audience area, laboratory and area for handling the several thousand other Viking objects. – Not getting everything on the wish list Minister of Research and Higher Education, Oddmund Hoel says, however, that the cost gap linked to moving the ship will not affect other things in the project. – Because the security of the collections is so critical and so important, we have agreed to use 350 million of the buffer, which has all been set aside for unforeseen costs. But it will have no consequences for other parts of the project, Hoel believes. Equally, the situation now is that the cut made in 2022 is far from being realized. – We understand that those who will use the building would like to have fulfilled all points on the wish list, but that is not the case. We will still get an absolutely fantastic building that will make the Norwegian cultural treasure available to both Norwegians and foreigners in a completely new and wonderful way, says Hoel. Published 23.08.2024, at 06.51
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It will cost 550 million to move the Viking ship about 100 meters – news Culture and entertainment
