Full steam ahead for wellboat operator Intership
Chief executive pleased with progress despite dip in operating profit last year
The chief executive of wellboat operator Intership has said he is very satisfied with results achieved last year despite an 8.6% fall in operating profit to NOK 132.4 million from NOK 144.8m in 2021. Turnover was NOK 277.3m, slightly higher than the NOK 275.8m made in 2021.
“We had one of the vessels in a difficult spot market in the first half of the year, as well as one vessel undergoing refit and transfer to Chile for the entire last half of the year. These two affected the result negatively,” boss Ole Peter Brandal told Fish Farming Expert’s Norwegian sister site, Kyst.no.
On the positive side, he pointed out that the company signed several new contracts that take effect from 2024 and 2025. Furthermore, it had the Inter Atlantic delivered from a shipyard in Spain late in December. That vessel, built by Zamakona Yards Bilbao, has a well capacity of 2,200m³ and is equipped with a high-capacity reverse osmosis (RO) system to generate freshwater for treatment of lice and amoebic gill disease (AGD). It is contracted to Mowi Scotland.
New contracts
“2023 looks good: the vessels mentioned in connection with 2022 are in full operation, and in addition we get a full year of effect from Inter Atlantic. And Inter Scotia will be delivered from the shipyard in September. In addition, we have continued to secure several new contracts so far in 2023,” said Brandal.
The Inter Scotia will have a capacity of 2,500m³ and will be equipped with a large battery pack, solutions for energy recovery and be prepared for the installation of a large-capacity RO plant. It will also go into service for Mowi Scotland.
In 2022, the company contracted two new wellboats at Sefine Shipyard in Turkey. The vessels have been specially developed for the treatment of lice and AGD using large quantities of self-produced fresh water.
11 wellboats
The newbuilds, which have capacities of 6,500m³ and 4,000m³ respectively, will be used as ordinary wellboats, but can also be used as treatment vessels.
Both boats will be delivered during the third quarter of next year, when the largest vessel will enter into a fixed agreement for a large salmon farmer. In an interview in the current issue of Fish Farming Expert magazine earlier this year (see wesbite, pages 16-21), Mowi Scotland chief operating officer Ben Hadfield said the company would have use of a 6,500m³-capacity wellboat from Q3 2024.
After delivery of the newbuilds from Sefine, the total fleet capacity in Intership will be approximately 26,200m³ distributed among 11 wellboats operating in Norway, Chile, Scotland, and on the east and west coasts of Canada.
