Workboat crosses ocean to tackle lice for Grieg BC
A new delousing and service vessel is expected to arrive in Victoria, British Columbia next week after crossing the Atlantic to begin a contract for salmon farmer Grieg Seafood BC.
The Coastal Server, which is currently off northern Mexico, is a NabWork 2411 built by Norwegian company Moen Marin for Nidaros Shipping AS. It is fitted with a SkaMik 1.5 delousing system that uses a combination of soft rotating brushes and low-pressure water nozzles to remove lice from farmed salmon.
At just 24 metres long, the Coastal Server it is a relatively small vessel to cross an ocean in, but Moen Marin chief executive Terje Andreassen was in no doubt about the boat’s ability.
“Crossing the Atlantic under your own power is not the everyday job of work boats in the aquaculture industry, but we never doubted that the Coastal Server could carry out such a voyage,” said Andreassen in a press release. “NabWork 2411s are robust boats.”
97% lice removal
Nidaros Shipping is headquartered in Trondheim, Norway but carries out its operations in British Columbia, where it has 50 employees. Coastal Server is the sixth vessel it has bought from Moen Marin, which is owned by aquaculture supplier Scale AQ.
The SkaMik 1.5 delouser fitted to the Coastal Server is said to remove 97% of lice, regardless of life stage, and can treat up to 100 tonnes of fish per hour per unit.
According to the manufacturer, the treatment process takes just 15 seconds from the time a fish is taken out of the water until it is back in the pen. Fish spend just 1.5 seconds in the delousing unit and regain appetite immediately after treatment.
Quadrupling turnover
“Demand for SkaMik’s solutions has completely taken off, and we are set to quadruple our turnover from NOK 50 million in 2020 to NOK 200 million this year,” said SkaMik chief executive Geir Skarstad.
“It is very pleasing that we now also get to demonstrate the technology in the Canadian market.”
The NabWork 2411 is 11.2 metres wide and has a gross deck area of 137m² behind the wheelhouse. The boat is equipped with a 12-cylinder Caterpillar engine producing 746 kW (1,000 hp) at 1600-1800 rpm, swivel gear and propeller system from Finnøy, and two Palfinger cranes. It has six one-person cabins.
