Vard has launched a new energy construction vessel being built for a Norwegian owner, the shipbuilder and the client announced in a report published on 29 October 2026.

The vessel, designated NB985, was successfully launched, MarineLink Maritime News reported. The hull and basic structure have reached the stage at which the ship can be transferred out of the building dock, marking a formal milestone in the construction programme.

NB985 is being built for Wind Energy Construction, described in the report as a Norwegian company partly owned by the founders and owners of Norwind Offshore. The vessel is identified in the report specifically as an energy construction vessel, abbreviated ECV.

Delivery of NB985 is scheduled for the second quarter of 2027, according to the MarineLink item dated 29 October 2026. That timetable places the vessel’s handover to its owner in a clearly defined window, subject to the usual fitting out, trials and regulatory inspections that follow a launch.

Key details from the report include:

  • Builder: Vard.
  • Owner: Wind Energy Construction, a Norwegian company partly owned by the founders and owners of Norwind Offshore.
  • Vessel designation: NB985.
  • Delivery: scheduled for the second quarter of 2027.
  • Source and date: MarineLink Maritime News, 29 October 2026.

Ownership links and designation

The report emphasises the link between the new owner and Norwind Offshore through partial ownership of Wind Energy Construction by Norwind’s founders and owners. The vessel’s designation, NB985, is given in the announcement and serves as its construction yard number.

Schedule and construction milestone

The launch recorded by MarineLink represents a defined step in NB985’s build sequence, moving the ship out of the initial construction phase and into the period typically devoted to outfitting and trials. The stated delivery window, the second quarter of 2027, remains the firm date range published with the launch notice.

MarineLink Maritime News carried the report on 29 October 2026, which supplies the publicly available details on the launch and the contractual relationship between builder and owner. The items reported comprise the current public record supplied in the announcement and set out the immediate facts of the project.

The launch of NB985 adds to a continuing programme of specialist vessel construction at Vard, as reflected in the company’s ongoing output of purpose-built ships. The particulars released in the MarineLink item are confined to the vessel’s designation, ownership structure and the delivery schedule, and do not include further technical or commercial detail.

Observers will note that the information published on 29 October 2026 sets the next key milestone as delivery in the second quarter of 2027. Until further details are released by the parties involved, the construction yard number NB985, the owner Wind Energy Construction and the delivery timing are the principal confirmed elements of the project as reported.