The Guardian<\/a>.<\/h3>\nThe nonprofit Vikingaleden association, which operates a Viking centre and museum in V\u00e4rmland, western Sweden, says the replica warship Glad av Gillberga suffered damage during its six months with the production.<\/p>\n
The association claims the vessel sustained damage to parts of its wooden structure, including the stern and mast, after being used as one of the escort ships in the film\u2019s Viking-inspired fleet.<\/p>\n
The group says Universal Pictures agreed to cover repair costs but has not paid an invoice worth around $6,000 for materials used to restore the ship.<\/p>\n
The owners say they did not charge the studio for volunteer labour.<\/p>\n
Peter Olausson, chair of the Vikingaleden association, said the organisation felt proud that the historic replica appeared in Nolan\u2019s epic, but frustration followed when the alleged payment failed to arrive.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are only charging for the material cost, not the labour,\u201d Olausson said. \u201cOf course Universal can afford this $6,000. We feel forgotten.\u201d<\/p>\n
The association says the ship is now sailing again, but Olausson believes Universal failed to honour its agreement.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe agreement was that we would fix it and get financially reimbursed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
For Universal, the outstanding amount represents a relatively small expense compared with the reported scale of The Odyssey<\/em>, which had a production budget of around $250m and generated a reported $264m during its opening weekend.<\/p>\nThe Glad av Gillberga replica is based on a Viking-era shipwreck discovered in Denmark\u2019s Roskilde Fjord dating back to around 1040. Over almost three decades, the vessel has sailed across the North Sea, the Baltic Sea and even travelled to Canada.<\/p>\n
During production, the ship formed part of the fleet used to depict ancient vessels in Nolan\u2019s adaptation of Homer\u2019s epic poem about Odysseus\u2019 decade-long journey home after the Trojan War.<\/p>\n
The main vessel representing Odysseus\u2019 ship was the 35-metre Norwegian replica Draken Harald H\u00e5rfagre.<\/p>\n
Swedish captain Bj\u00f6rn Ahlander, who worked on the production, said filming aboard the ships for six months around Greek and Italian islands presented challenges for the 30-person crew.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe rebuilt the ship into an ancient Greek ship,\u201d Ahlander told Swedish broadcaster SVT. \u201cWe removed the tents and all the modern things and had an open deck that we lived on during this time. It was quite tough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Universal Pictures rejected the claim, saying the studio had paid all invoices connected to the Glad av Gillberga.<\/p>\n
A Universal spokesperson said: \u201cOur records show that all invoices relating to the Glad av Gillberga were paid in full, including repairs. The studio and the production have contacted the association to clear up any misunderstanding.\u201d<\/p>\n
The dispute remains unresolved publicly, with the Swedish nonprofit maintaining that it is still waiting for reimbursement while The Odyssey<\/em> continues its worldwide theatrical run.<\/p>\n