Wellboat operator orders two new vessels worth £99m
Global wellboat operator Intership has ordered two large, hybrid-power vessels from Turkey’s Sefine Shipyard.
The vessels, designed by Salt Ship Design, will have well capacities of 6,500 m³ and 4,000 m³ and are specially developed to treat farmed salmon for lice and amoebic gill disease (AGD) using large quantities of fresh water produced onboard.
Both are due for delivery during the third quarter of 2024, with the larger vessel contracted on a long-term basis to a major salmon farming company, Intership said in a press release.
NOK 2 bn investment
Intership currently has another two vessels under construction at Spain’s Zamakona yard in Bilbao, with the first, the 2,200 m³-capacity Inter Atlantic, due for completion in Q3 2022. The second – with a 2,500 m³ well capacity and a hybrid propulsion system – will be delivered in Q2 2023. Both vessels are contracted to salmon farmers from delivery.
The two Sefine orders represent an investment of approximately NOK 1.2 billion (£99 million). Combined with the Zamakona orders, the total investment is close to NOK 2 bn.
“These contracts are the result of a major team effort by the whole organisation, with [deputy chief executive] Joar Gjerde, [business development director] Håvard Grøntvedt and [key account manager] Benjamin Reite in the lead,” said chief executive Ole Peter Brandal. “This team has yet again demonstrated its ability to secure contracts in a highly competitive, international environment.”
Reverse osmosis
Intership said that during the last six years it had taken the lead in developing freshwater treatment for lice and AGD using a reverse osmosis (RO) system and has gained extensive operational experience in freshwater production and freshwater treatments. The experience has been used to actively develop and improve existing and planned systems, resulting in an RO system that provides a low-cost, highly efficient, and environmentally friendly method for dealing with the lice and AGD challenges faced by salmon farmers.
Intership installed its first RO unit on the Inter Caledonia, which operates in Scotland for Mowi, in 2016.
Since then, chief operating officer Kjetil Opshaug and his team have been responsible for several adjustments to, and further developments of, the system for freshwater production. The 2bn NOK construction programme represents further development of this technology, said Intership.
Immediate feeding
“With our method for freshwater treatment, we achieve a very good score for all welfare indicators, and the fish resume feeding immediately after treatment,” said Opshaug. “The method is beneficial for fish welfare, environment and costs.”
As well as operating in its home country of Norway, and Scotland, Intership operates the 1,040 m³-capacity Victoria Viking in Atlantic Canada and the 660 m³-capacity Roy Kristian in British Columbia, the 1,800 m³-capacity Inter Fiord in Chile, and the 970 m³-capacity Dønnalaks in Iceland.
