On Thursday, January 29, 2026, the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV; Försvarets materielverk), operating under the Ministry of Defence of the Kingdom of Sweden, announced that a keel-laying ceremony for the second and final multi-role support vessel (so-called “work vessel,” Swedish: arbetsfartyg) for the Royal Swedish Navy (Svenska marinen) had taken place the previous week at the shipyard of the Spanish company Astilleros Armón Vigo in Galicia.
Photos and images: FMV
“It is incredibly encouraging to see the rapid progress on this project. The first work vessel, HSwMS Sälen, will be launched by spring 2026, and construction of the second, HSwMS Tumlaren, is already underway,” said Susanne Nordman, project manager at the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV).
On February 27, 2024, FMV ordered two multi-role support vessels in Spain. The design was developed by the Stockholm-based design office Saltech Consultants AB, with deliveries scheduled for 2027 and 2028. On November 26, 2024, steel cutting for the first unit took place at the Spanish shipyard, followed by keel laying on February 24, 2025.
The vessels will have a hull length of 49.95 meters, a beam of 11 meters, and a displacement of approximately 1,000 tons. They will be based at naval facilities in Haninge and Karlskrona.
They will replace the torpedo recovery vessel HSwMS Pelikanen (A 247), which entered service in 1963, and the diving and underwater operations tender HSwMS Furusund (A 320), commissioned 20 years later in 1983. The new work vessels will be used for torpedo recovery operations, logistics, underwater work, and for supporting deep-sea diving activities.
They will be one of three new types of auxiliary vessels being introduced by the Royal Swedish Navy (Svenska marinen), alongside a new generation of harbor tugs and pushers. They will also complement the capabilities currently provided by the rescue vessel HSwMS Belos (A 214), which entered service in 1992 and is also used for underwater operations, including missions related to the protection of critical underwater infrastructure and diving activities. At 104.9 meters in length and with a displacement of 6,150 tons, Belos is currently the largest ship in the Swedish Navy.