VESSEL REVIEW | Ronja Herøy – Norway’s Sølvtrans places large-capacity wellboat into service

Norwegian fish transport company Sølvtrans recently took delivery of a new wellboat built by Sefine Shipyard of Turkey.

Designed by Salt Ship Design in compliance to DNV class requirements, Ronja Herøy is the first in a series of wellboats that will each have transport capacities of up to 5,000 cubic metres of live salmon. Sefine Shipyard said that, during the vessel's construction phase, special attention was paid to ensure crew safety, fish welfare, and compliance with Norwegian requirements for the transport of live salmon while making the vessel's environmental footprint as low as possible.

The newbuild has an LOA of 92.66 metres, a moulded beam of 22.4 metres, a draught of five metres, a depth of 9.6 metres, a gross tonnage of 7,447, and accommodations for 16 crewmembers. The propulsion arrangement consists of four Scania DI13 dual-fuel generators that can run on either MGO, LNG or biogas, two Kongsberg Maritime electric-driven azimuthing thrusters housing fixed-pitch propellers, and two Kongsberg Maritime side thrusters. A fifth Scania DI13 generator is available for emergency use.

The propulsion may also be configured to allow operation on ammonia in the future.

The wellboat relies on a freshwater production plant with a maximum rated output of 6,000 cubic metres per day. MMC First Process provided the fish handling equipment while Red Rock supplied the four cargo cranes and a smaller davit for the vessel's MOB boat. The cargo cranes can be controlled remotely from the wheelhouse.

Flatsetsund Engineering meanwhile fitted the vessel with a delousing system that ensures fish health through gentle handling of fish and the absence of chemicals, thereby minimising stress on the transported salmon.

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