Research vessel Aranda – shared maritime technology and marine environment research platform by Syke and VTT

Aranda is a multipurpose research vessel used by Syke and VTT for the development of maritime technologies and marine environment research. The tailorable vessel offers possibilities to test, pilot and validate various maritime technologies and environmental solutions. You can bring your own systems or solutions aboard for testing and development, leveraging VTT's resources and expertise in areas such as sustainable maritime operations, smart shipping and Arctic navigation.

Key facts

  • Aranda is owned and operated by Syke, while VTT uses the vessel to conduct R&D together with industry customers.  
  • Customers can bring their own systems or solutions aboard to be developed and tested. 
  • Synergies between maritime technologies and marine environment research create avenues for new innovations. 

What is Aranda?

Research vessel Aranda, owned and operated by Syke (Finnish Environment Institute), presents a valuable shared research infrastructure for you to develop maritime and environmental technologies and research.  

Aranda is a multipurpose research vessel used to monitor marine environments, study climate change and conduct research on the effects of pollution and other environmental factors on marine ecosystems. Aranda has icebreaking capabilities, allowing it to operate in harsh northern conditions. This is especially useful during the winter months in the Baltic Sea.  

She is designed for oceanographic, hydrographic, geophysical and geotechnical investigations as well as buoy mooring and ROV operations. Aranda has sailed globally, visiting both Arctic and Antarctic waters. 

Syke collaborates with VTT on Aranda, with VTT conducting research and development on maritime technologies together with customers. 

landing dock of Aranda

What are the benefits of doing R&D on Aranda?

Commissioned in 1989 and modernised in 2018, Aranda is a good example of a retrofit ocean class vessel. It has various functions and provides an excellent platform to develop the research on maritime technology and innovations regarding retrofitting fleets in different phases of their lifecycle. 

We combine our assets on Aranda in a way where VTT conducts research and development on maritime technologies and Syke concentrates on marine environment. This offers versatile possibilities to explore synergies in both themes.  

Collaboration between VTT and Syke not only enhances technological research but also expands the use of Aranda from its current environmental research to new possibilities for the maritime industry to test, pilot and validate various technologies. The vessel offers a tailorable platform where customers can bring their own systems and solutions aboard to be tested. 

Technical specification

Commissioned: 1989 (Wärtsilä dockyard Helsinki), modernisation 2018 (Rauma Marine)

Displacement: 1969t

Max endurance: 60 days

Length overall: 66.30m

Main engine: Wärtsilä Vasa 8R22 MD and Wärtsilä Vasa 12V22 MD, total 3 MW 

Main generators: 2 x Strömberg 1570 kVA, 1 x 250kW

Electric engine: Corvus 2 x 100kWh, 1000VDC

Aux Engine: Scania DI09/74M, 250kW

Propulsion: Main propulsion Berg 900H/4, controllable pitch propeller, 2600mm

Bow Thruster 1. Brunvoll 11/52, 0–1500rpm, 400kW

Bow thruster 2.  Schottel Pump-Jet RD132, 0–1000rpm, 360deg. 400kW

Stern thruster Bakker, PDL 60–900, 0–1500rpm, 150kW 

You can find more detailed information on Aranda and its research infrastructure on the Syke website.  

How can you utilise Aranda?

Aranda is available as a platform for your research where you get to utilise VTT’s resources, assets and capabilities. We can support you in the following areas: 

Ship technology

  • Sustainable maritime operations: technologies to reduce emissions and increase the energy efficiency of ships: green propulsion systems, such as electric and hybrid solutions, biofuels, ammonia and hydrogen fuel cells, innovative energy storage systems. 

  • Smart shipping and autonomous vessels: enhanced and safe autonomous navigation systems and remote control technologies for crew resource optimisation.  

  • Arctic and ice navigation: icebreaking technologies, vessel design for ice navigation and operations in extreme environments. VTT’s expertise is valuable for Arctic shipping routes as operation in the polar regions is becoming more active. 

  • Hydrodynamic research and full-scale validation for propulsion, cavitation, hull efficiency and seakeeping studies. Also management and modelling of underwater radiated noise, zero-emission auxiliary power. 

  • Operation and maintenance innovation to meet crew requirements, reduce human factors and improve crew wellbeing. Also, multifunctional operational jobs based on robotics, artificial intelligence and remote support solutions. 

Maritime operations

  • Floating mobile platform for uncrewed system operations: drones and USVs and AUVs (uncrewed surface vessels and autonomous underwater vehicles), proof of concepts on technology innovation. 

  • Maritime safety and security solutions for collision avoidance, risk management and resilient design, including advanced simulation and testing methods for stability and operational safety in adverse conditions. Cybersecurity challenges for digitalised and autonomous ships and platforms, ensuring protection from cyber threats and malfunctions in critical systems. 

  • Offshore platforms and energy solutions, including offshore wind farm testing and operation and maintenance, marine energy harvesting, marine nutrient and mineral extraction and processing, along with carbon capture technologies, such as direct ocean capture and biological carbon sinks. 

  • Circular economy practices for the maritime sector, focusing on recycling, waste-to-energy platforms, material efficiency and waste management as a service. 

  • Special use-cases can be, for example, technology piloting and proof-of-concept studies in coastal towns and cities where Aranda can be utilised as a cost-efficient transferable platform in early stage PoC cases. Energy production, including waste-to-energy, waste management and recycling are potential PoC cases.   

  • Digital twins and simulation: virtual models that replicate the real-time behaviour of ships and maritime systems. The simulation of various conditions, such as stress on structures, energy consumption or weather impacts, enables optimisation and early problem detection. 

  • Fleet connectivity: integrated sensing and connectivity (ISAC) infrastructure in 5G/6G, non-terrestrial networks. 

  • Biological oceanography: equipment research and development. 

  • Dual use solutions across defence, security and civilian maritime sectors, especially in the arctic environment. 

Get in touch

Heikki Rajasalo
Heikki Rajasalo
Solution Sales Lead