The Vidar -class ships are two units ( Vidar and Vale ) that were built in 1977 and 1978 for the Norwegian Navy as mine layers. The ships are now serving in the Latvian and Lithuanian Navy and are used there as command and supply ships ( Virsaitis and Jotvingis ).
Against the backdrop of the Cold War in the 1970s, the Norwegian Armed Forces saw a need for two large mine-layers that could also be used as support ships in peacetime . For this purpose, the ships of the Vidar class were laid down in 1976 . The type ship Vidar (named after Odin 's son of the same name ) was put into service in 1977. This was followed in 1978 by the Vale (also named after a son of Odin).
Due to the changed political situation, the ships, which were also getting on in years, were no longer needed by Norway at the beginning of the 21st century. In 2003 the Vale was taken over by the Latvian Navy and put into service under the name Virsaitis . Three years later, the Vidar was also withdrawn from active service in the Norwegian fleet. The ship was taken over by Lithuania in the same year and reactivated as Jotvingis by the local navy . In both naval forces, the ships serve today (as of 2014) as command and supply ships for the anti-mine associations of the respective country.
