This boat is pure Macduff Ship Design – compact, strong, seaworthy, comfortable, safe, and very well-equipped. She is also beamy and very powerful. She is a very adaptable multi-purpose salmon farming workboat that operates in the bleak, rugged north of Scotland.
She truly is a litre in a half-litre pot, a very well thought-out example of Macduff's rightly renowned design work.
"It is a first in class treatment vessel designed specifically for on-site removal of lice on farmed fish," Ian Ellis, Macduff Ship Design Managing Director told Baird Maritime. "It is designed to remain below 24-metre registered whilst still having full capability to treat fish using a thermolice system."
Ellis said that, with the vessel being specifically designed for this system, this has allowed the system to be optimised for efficiency, fish welfare, and operator safety and comfort. The inclusion of three large knuckle boom cranes meanwhile allows the vessel to perform full operations without assistance from auxiliary vessels.
"Being a first in class vessel, the thermolice system was developed in parallel to the vessel requiring development of onboard layout to ensure optimal compatibility between the it and the treatment system," added Ellis, citing the key challenge that lay in going about the project. "As the treatment system is complex in terms of both technical and special arrangements, there were significant issues encountered in ensuring the system's smooth integration within a compact hull.
"The owner has told us she is, 'a fantastic boat, great working system, now proving its worth'."
Like other naval architects, Macduff Ship Design noted the trend towards lower-emission propulsion systems in vessel design.
"There are significant changes in expectation with regard to emissions control and vessel efficiency. The initial move to IMO Tier III emissions regulations is seeing a change to vessel design to accommodate the additional equipment and Urea required for these systems."
The designer added that further propulsion system advances are not being seen as viable solutions for long-range workboats at this time. The company, however, is endeavouring to ensure new designs will promote compatibility alongside improvements to general vessel efficiency with alternate systems and hull form optimisation.
"The aquaculture industry is moving forward quickly with many advances in the farming of fish and other marine organisms," Ellis told Baird Maritime. "We expect this to continue with the need for more advanced and capable vessels."
The company also envisages a steady move to more renewable forms of propulsion as well as interest in possibilities for automation within the sector.
