A GoFundMe campaign has been set up for the Saga Farmann Viking ship. The vessel, which has been traveling across Europe since 2023, sustained serious water damage at the marina in Italy, where it was resting over the winter.
The expedition's project manager, Lars Bill, talks to The Viking Herald about the frantic repair work, some exciting plans for this year's voyages, and how you can help make them happen.
An unwelcome surprise
Saga Farmann is a reconstruction of the Klåstad Viking ship, which was excavated in Norway in 1970.
Over the past two years, the Farmann has traveled from its starting point in Tønsberg, Norway, through Scandinavia and across central Europe to Greece, Croatia, and Italy, with a stop-off at Istanbul along the way.
After completing the final leg of its 2024 journey, the ship was placed in storage at a marina in the town of Civitavecchia near Rome, Italy. As Lars tells The Viking Herald, however, as the team inspected the ship in March, it soon became clear something had gone terribly wrong.
"I went down from Norway to Italy with my spouse and three others," Lars says. "We were just there to do the tarring and prep the ship for the season."
"We needed to move it from the marina to the shipyard to prepare to bring it on land so we could do the underwater haul," he explains. "But we couldn't get the engines to work."
"That was when we started to investigate, and we found out the boxes that contained the electrical equipment were full of water."
It soon became clear the electrical equipment had sustained serious damage.
The team was immediately faced with three big questions: How did it happen? How would they fix it in time to launch the ship for its extensive 2025 voyage? And how were they going to pay for it?
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Electrical systems on the Saga Farmann were destroyed after floodwater entered sealed components. Photo: Courtesy of the Oseberg Viking Heritage Foundation
The investigation
For Lars and the other members of the Saga Farmann team, the first step was to try to work out the cause and the extent of the damage.
"We still don't really know what exactly happened," he admits. "Our insurance company has investigated to try to figure out the sequence of events."
"They figured out that at some point in October last year, there was an extreme rainstorm in the area of Civitavecchia in Italy, where the ship is located. The water likely accumulated inside the hull of the open ship at that time."
It is thought that the water pump likely cut out but eventually started working again and cleared the water in the boat, leaving no obvious sign to the marina owner that there was a problem.
The remaining water was only spotted when the Saga Farmann team opened the boxes.
"We can only see what the consequences are. The electrical parts are under the ship, and they were flooded," Lars tells The Viking Herald.
"There was water above those boxes that seeped in through the cables, into the box, the electronics, the engine, and everything. It stayed inside these boxes and inside the alternators of the generators. Everything was ruined."
Support from Norway, London, and Germany helped the crew restart repairs after the flood. Photo: Courtesy of the Oseberg Viking Heritage Foundation
Help from all quarters
The Saga Farmann is due to depart from Civitavecchia on May 15, with a complicated set of travel plans and commitments lined up for the rest of the year.
Before setting off on this year's voyage, the team needs to carry out a rigorous set of tests. In other words, it was essential to resolve the issue as soon as possible.
"The first thing we did was call back to Norway to the people who had invented the engine solution and asked them what to do," Lars explains.
"They said, okay, this is an emergency. We need to fix this; otherwise, you won't be able to save the ship."
"In 48 hours, they were able to bring us all the gear we needed to repair those control units for the engines," Lars continues.
"They put it all together the day after, then one of our Viking friends went to pick it up. He brought two big suitcases, filled them up with all the gear we needed, went straight to the airport, and flew down to Italy."
"So in 48 hours, we had everything on the pier, and we could start ripping out the old equipment and building new stuff. That was pretty amazing."
"However, we still had two generators that were completely dead," Lars continues. "I called our friend in London at the British-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce, the managing director Kjote Haugen."
"He arranged a meeting with Fischer Panda, the world's leading provider of marine generators, who agreed to provide us with new generators and also become our long-term sponsor."
"The generators are on their way from Germany as we speak, so they will be ready when I get down there next week, and we can start installing them."
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Despite financial uncertainty, repairs are underway thanks to strong volunteer support. Photo: Courtesy of the Oseberg Viking Heritage Foundation
Every little helps
Although Lars is now confident the Saga Farmann will be launched according to schedule, the team has been left with a hefty bill and is appealing for assistance.
"We are looking at quite substantial costs to get the ship up and running again after this flooding situation, so we have done quite a few initiatives," Lars tells us.
"One of them is to get help from our sponsors, of course. We have had pretty good feedback. They understand we are a non-profit organization, so we don't have thousands of euros available to fix the ship out of nothing. We need help."
The team has also provided an opportunity for the general public to make a contribution. "We have put up a GoFundMe campaign and a similar solution in Norway."
"We thought we could provide an opportunity for private people to give a small donation so that everybody can chip in. Hopefully, we will end up with a sum that covers the costs we need."
"But we are not waiting for the money to come in—we are getting stuff done. And then we have to deal with the financial situation afterward."
After suffering the blow of extensive damage to the ship, Lars informs The Viking Herald he has been much cheered by the positive response so far.
"It's amazing. When this happens, and you're trying to figure out how to fix stuff, you really find out who your true friends are."
"It's still going to cost a lot of money, but we got the gear and everything for the engines and the generators, and we've got volunteers joining me, going down there and doing the repairs and continuing the preparation for the season."
Plans for 2025 include test sailing in April and a full voyage starting in May. Photo: Courtesy of the Oseberg Viking Heritage Foundation
Back on the water
As Lars informs The Viking Herald, there are some exciting plans afoot in 2025 for the Saga Farmann.
"If we're lucky and everything goes as planned, we can launch the ship back in the water on April 14," he says. "We will do some test sailing for a week during the Easter holiday, and then she's hopefully ready for the voyage to start on May 15."
The Saga Farmann crew will travel through three countries as they continue to explore the path of the Vikings.
"We have some events in Genoa, and then we are continuing along the Riviera," Lars tells us.
"We'll stop by the small Italian town of Marina di Andora, which is twinned with Larvik, a town near Tønsberg in Norway. Then we continue to Monaco and after Nice, where we're going to be a part of the UN Ocean Conference."
"Next, we will stay for one week in Paris so the ship can be on display for tourists and residents there. We'll take a small stop in Normandy and Cannes to visit some of the Vikings there before crossing the Channel to get to England."
"Finally, we will head up the coast into the River Thames and along to London. The ship will spend the winter in London, where it will be placed on display at the National Maritime Museum."
You can find out more about the Saga Farmann on the ship's website or make a contribution to the GoFundMe campaign here.
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