It was businessman Sigurd Aase who was the client when the world’s largest ocean-going Viking ship was to be built at Vibrandsøy in Haugesund.

The dragon ship, to be named Harald Hårfagre, will be 35 meters long, eight meters wide, and has a raw sail of no less than 300 square meters. Construction will begin right after the new year, and the ship will be ready for its maiden voyage in the spring of 2013.

On Tuesday, three eight-meter-long test vessels with different variants of the hull shape of Harald Hårfagre’s dragonboat will be tested in Nedstrandsfjorden.

Like a Long Snake

Preliminary studies for the Viking ship Harald Hårfagre have been going on for a year, and in addition to the test ship, high-tech computer simulations with supercomputers have also been used to find the best design for the ship and sail guides.

Harald Hårfagre’s dragon ship had the same characteristics as Ormen Lange, where the good sailing qualities of a seagoing ship were combined with the use of warship oars.

Harald Hårfagre’s dragon is slightly shorter than Ormen Lange, which is probably 41-44 meters long. But Harald Hårfagre, at 35 meters long, would be the largest Viking ship built in modern times.

When Harald Hårfagre’s dragon is completed in spring 2013, the Viking ship will spend most of its time at sea retrieving Viking maritime knowledge and spreading this knowledge further afield, said a press release from the project group.

There are three international companies working with high technology that financed the construction of the Viking ship. These companies will be presented at Nedstrand on Tuesday.