The first element of the keel for Denmark's new research vessel Dana V was laid yesterday at the Spanish shipyard Freire, which is responsible for building Dana V. In the maritime industry, this event is known as a keel laying, which was celebrated with a ceremony at the Freire shipyard in the port city of Vigo on the Spanish Atlantic coast. Dana V will replace the current Dana IV, enabling DTU to continue and intensify its long-standing important work in marine research.
DTU University Director Claus Nielsen took part in the festivities:
"It is a great pleasure that we can now mark the beginning of the physical construction of Dana V. With the construction of Dana V, Denmark will have a research vessel at the latest and most advanced technical level, which can sail almost silently in oceans and Arctic waters. Dana V will be a crucial platform for a wide range of research tasks in the Danish Realm," says Claus Nielsen.
He attended the ceremony together with, among others, Professor Friedrich Wilhelm Köster from DTU, and both brought a coin, which was symbolically placed under the keel of Dana V to bring good luck to the 70-meter-long ship and its crew. General Manager Marcos Freire and General Manager Guillermo Freire attended from the Spanish shipyard Freire.
Over the coming year, students will have the opportunity to follow parts of the construction phase, and the next important milestone in the construction phase will be the launch of the hull—the entire exterior structure of the ship—in the fall of 2026.
It will then take another year to complete the ship's interior and install the technical equipment before the Freire shipyard delivers the completed Dana V in the fall of 2027.
Dana V was designed in Denmark by the ‘Dansk Dana Konsortium’, consisting of Knud E. Hansen A/S and Odense Maritime Technology A/S, while the Danish ship engineering company OSK Design A/S is responsible for ship engineering project management and supervision at the shipyard.
The construction of Dana V has been made possible by significant grants from the state's research reserve and two crucial donations of 50 million DKK each from the A.P. Moller and Chastine Mc-Kinney Moller Foundation and the foundation Aktieselskabet Dampskibsselskabet Orient's Fond, respectively, as well as co-financing from DTU.
