Damen unveils UV 4312 fish farm support vessel
Netherlands shipbuilder Damen has unveiled its UV 4312 support vessel, which is specifically designed for work on saltwater fish farms and is fitted with the latest chemical-free delousing installation.
The 43-metre, 499 tonne utility vessel (UV) 4312 builds on the development work that went into its smaller predecessor, the UV 2410, and is able to service more farms across larger areas and in more open waters. It has a deck area of 350 sq metres and can accommodate ten personnel.
Remko Hottentot, Damen sales manager for Norway, said: “The UV 4312 is a highly adaptable vessel. Her modular deck configuration makes it quick and cost-effective to remove equipment and replace with new installations on deck.
“As well as fish farming support she can be fitted out for light IRM [inspection, maintenance and repair] work for the offshore energy sector, buoy-laying plus dive and ROV support. However, we see the greatest potential in the globally fast-growing aquaculture industry.”
The first vessel was displayed at the company’s Gorinchem site and is the result of a contract signed in December 2016 by Damen Shipyards Group and Norway-based VOLT Service.
The vessel will be named VOLT Processor and will provide delousing operations and other services to salmon farms in the Harstad area of Norway.
The standard UV 4312 comes with a diesel-electric configuration that provides a flexible power supply for the 750kW propulsion installation and for the deck equipment when moored within farms.
During the construction of VOLT Processor, protection for the propellers from nets and their mooring lines was added, along with a large oxygen generating plant and extra deck equipment such as cranes, a capstan and tugger winches.
