New wellboat set for Scotland

The vessel, called the Ronja Supporter, will be used for the company’s southern farms, in the Argyll area. It is currently being fitted out by Sølvtrans and will be operational by the beginning of 2017 on a long term lease. It will join its sister vessel, the Ronja Viking, which supports SSC’s harvesting processes in the company’s north region, across the Hebrides.

The Supporter is almost double the size of its sister vessel, offering excellent fuel efficiency plus state-of-the-art technology including an on-board fish grading system and high-speed counting scanner.

As well as supporting SSC’s ambitions to increase its harvest capacity in the long term, the new wellboat will allow the company to have three ships continually at sea from the start of next year. The live-haul wellboat will also enable SSC to increase its current pre-rigor filleting, which dovetails the future growth and export strategies of the business and ensures the delivery of premium quality fish to customers round the globe.

Craig Anderson, SSC’s Managing Director, said: “This important partnership will support our long-term aim to increase volumes and achieve balanced year-round production, as well as our ambitions to further increase our exports.

“We believe that the live-haul process produces a better fish quality and this investment signals our commitment to produce the finest quality, sea loch Scottish salmon.”

Roger Halsebakk, CEO of Sølvtrans AS, said: “Sølvtrans have had the pleasure of being the wellboat supplier to SSC since 2006. We are delighted that SSC is again choosing Sølvtrans to deliver two state-of-the-art vessels (an upgraded Ronja Viking and the new Ronja Supporter) on a long-term contract.”