Presenting another remarkable multi-national ship building co-operation, Aodh Na Mara brought together a Scottish designer, a Vietnamese builder, and a French/Chinese engine manufacturer for the benefit of an experienced Irish owner.
Macduff Ship Design is very well known to Baird Maritime readers and needs no introduction here. We have been reviewing the northern Scotland-based firm's elegant and practical designs for almost forty years.
This fine vivier crabber is something of a "quart in a pint pot", being very "ship like" despite an overall length of only 15 metres. There is something of a Macduff tradition of squeezing maximum performance and capability from boats of minimum length. It is unsurprising that Macduff Ship Design appears here so often.
"Aodh Na Mara is a compact vessel," Macduff told Baird Maritime, "and yet she is capable of operating in international waters with fully covered working spaces for crew safety."
The vessel's enhanced safety features compared to those of its similarly sized contemporaries was driven partly by the introduction of new international and UK regulations covering emissions. Macduff said that, although the regulations were primarily concerned with vessel emissions, these still had significant implications as these would dictate how the available space on a vessel will be utilised.
"Crew comfort and safety is always a concern but this is being seen by owners as a vitally important area within the design of the vessels."
Macduff was also hard-hit in 2020, with Brexit posing almost as many challenges and uncertainties as does the Covid-19 pandemic, but the company claimed it was able to weather the storm and even ended the year with remarkably positive expectations for 2021.
"The year 2020 has been very strange with us being forced to adapt our working practices to comply with the new normal, as was the case with all other businesses. Still, with new regulation being introduced this New Year, we have seen significant interest in newbuild vessels. Although there is uncertainty about future regulation with Brexit looming for the UK, we remain hopeful that once this is resolved, there will be increased interest in our sector."
Macduff further stated that it is ready to serve the increased interest in fishing vessel newbuildings, especially now that customers are looking for designs that promise higher efficiency, improved crew safety and comfort, and other innovative technologies.
The company added that lucrative markets – not just fishing vessels – exist despite the uncertainty, and some of those markets are found close to home.
"The local small vessel marine industry is driven by food, within the fishing and aquaculture industries," Macduff told Baird Maritime. "The fishing industry is uncertain as to how the future will evolve with Brexit and the new regulation although still there is an air of optimism. The other area of significant change is the large offshore industry, now that there is also growing interest in offshore renewables. Scotland leads the way in many areas within this industry and there is a positive outlook for vessel within this sector."