Norway's DESS Aquaculture Shipping has ordered new live fish carriers based on a design developed by Salt Ship Design. The vessels will be built by Sefine Shipyard in Turkey, and the first two vessels will be delivered from the shipyard in 2019. The shipbuilding contract includes two optional vessels.
DESS Aquaculture's strategy is to build, own and operate a range of fish farming vessels, and this is the third shipbuilding contract made since the company was established in June 2016. All vessels will be assigned to long-term contracts for Marine Harvest.
The new vessels are 84.4 metres long and have a beam of 16.0 metres, and a fish well capacity of more than 3,500m3. According to Salt Ship Design, the design development has been ongoing for quite some time, and has resulted in a purpose made vessel designed to significantly enhance fish welfare, hygiene, quality and environmental aspects. The vessels have several new design solutions, and have extensive built-in flexibility with regard to different types of treatment methods.
Salt has been working closely with DESS Aquaculture and Marine Harvest to explore how well boat operations can be made more gentle for the fish, and what the operational requirements for a modern and efficient live fish carrier are.