Draken Harald Hårfagre (English: Dragon Harald Fairhair) is a large Viking longship built in the municipality of Haugesund, Norway. It is a ship that combines ocean-crossing sailing capabilities with a medieval warship’s use of oars. Building began in March 2010. Construction was funded by Sigurd Aase, described as a “Norwegian oil and gas tycoon.”

The longship is a “25-sesse” (25 pairs of oars); in other words, it is equipped with 50 oars. Each oar is powered by two men. Under sail, it requires a crew of 30 people.

Draken Harald Hårfagre is 35 meters long with a beam of approximately 8 meters and a displacement of about 95 metric tons. The longship is constructed of oak and carries 260 square meters of sail.

Draken Harald Hårfagre is the largest Viking ship built in modern times. In the Viking age, an attack carried out from the ocean would be in the form of a “strandhögg”, i.e., highly mobile hit-and-run tactics. By the High Middle Ages, the ships changed shape to become larger and heavier with platforms toward the bow and stern. This was done for the sake of sea battles, making it possible to board ships that lay alongside each other. In the 13th century, this tactic was well-known and widely used in Scandinavia.

The launching of the longship took place in the summer of 2012. The initial period was one of exploring how to sail and row the ship, and experimenting with the rigging along the coast of Norway.

The crew of Draken Harald Hårfagre was awarded the Leif Erikson Award by The Exploration Museum at the 2016 Explorers Festival in Húsavík, Iceland. Norwegian ambassador Cecilie Landsverk accepted the award on behalf of the crew from Iceland’s President Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, followed by a video message from the captain.

According to Wikipedia