The owners of the Viking ship used to film The Odyssey say the studio did not pay for it to be destroyed | Sweden

Swedish owners of a Viking longship replica that appears in a Hollywood blockbuster The Odyssey he says he feels “forgotten” after the filmmakers allegedly returned the wrecked ship and failed to pay the bills to repair it.

Almost thirty years at sea, the warship Glad av Gillberga – from a shipwreck around 1040 found in Denmark’s Roskilde fjord – has successfully traveled to the North Sea, the Baltic and to Canada.

But after six months in the hands of Universal, which according to the owners had promised to pay for everything, it was said to be badly damaged including the back and antenna.

Vikingaleden, an unprofitable Viking settlement in Värmland, in the west Swedenstated that when Universal invoiced for the equipment to repair their ship (they did not pay for their volunteer work), no payment arrived.

The following year, when Christopher Nolan epic plays Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway and Zendaya. shooting offices around the worldtaking in $264m (£196m) over the weekend alone, it is said to still be waiting for its $6,000 payment.

Peter Olausson, chairman of Vikingaleden, said that although he was proud that the ship was featured in the film, the sentiment was fraught with injustice after the giant said it had failed to repay the damages.

“We are only paying for material costs, not labor costs,” he said. “Really, Universal can afford this $6,000. We feel forgotten.”

The train is now back in service but Olausson accused Universal of going back on their word. “The contract was to fix it and get a refund.”

Olausson said that for Universal, the remaining money will be small, but for the 200-member organization that runs the Viking “village” and the museum, it is a lot of money.

Universal has been contacted for comment.

The a very popular moviewhich reportedly cost $250 million to build, is based on Homer’s ancient Greek poem about the king of Ithaca, Odysseus, on a 10-year voyage home from the Trojan War.

Glad av Gillberga was used as one of the escort ships in the flotilla, which is thought to be similar to the Nordic Viking ships.

The main ship, Odysseus’ boat, was similar to the Norwegian Draken Harald Hårfagre which was 35 meters long.

Its Swedish captain, Björn Ahlander, said that life on the fishing vessel for six months around the Greek and Italian islands was not easy for the 30 crew members. He told the broadcaster SVT: “We rebuilt the ship into an ancient Greek ship.