The new vessel will have a service speed of 15 knots and will be fitted with a new generation of fish handling equipment. A few of the vessel features will be: movable bulkheads, pressure loading and unloading, ultra large capacity grading equipment, an integrated Tendos vacuum pump system, a laboratory, a highly advanced system for water circulation, counting equipment from Aquascan, and a tank disinfection system.
The continuation of the Rostein Quality Assurance Program will be assured as it has been a key factor considered within the design of this vessel. The combined efforts of the yard and Rostein has enabled them to incorporate fish health and crew safety and comfort into the design.
The signing of the contract followed the successful lengthening of the vessel “Robris”, from 500m3 to a capacity of 900m3. A sister vessel, “Robas”, will be at Blaalid this summer and will also be converted to the same capacity by the autumn.
According to Rostein manager Odd Einar Sandøy, they are pleased with the quality of the workmanship and some of the new innovative designs incorporated in the lengthening of “Robris”. He is speaking from his company headquarters at the Island Harøy, located with the North Sea on its doorstep. Odd Einar and his brother Reidar are owners and operators of Rostein. “We grew up at the nearby island Sandøy and it was natural for us to settle and operate our company out here”.
Rostein is the largest well boat company in the world with eight vessels and customers in Norway, Scotland and Denmark The 1,200m3 vessels “Ro- Chief’”and five vessels at 700m3 complete the present fleet of the company.
“This world is like an escalator running backwards,” says Sandøy. “If you stop moving forward you end up at the bottom of the stairs, which is where the wolf pack hangs out”.
Rostein has been living this philosophy and constantly upgraded the fleet with new vessels and equipment. The fleet now consists of eight ultra-modern vessels with an average age of less than four years and a total capacity of 6,500m3.
Rostein is affiliated, through common ownership, with the Chilean based well boat company Naviera Orca Chile SA. Company manager Ezequias Alliende thinks that the new vessel design could be instrumental in developing the outer regions of Chile.
“Bringing 400 tonnes of salmon from the 11th region to the centralised processing facilities around Puerto Montt means that a typical farm in that region (of 5,000 tonnes or so) could be emptied in only 12 trips” says Alliende from his Puerto Montt based office. Alliende adds that the close relationship with Rostein has been very beneficial.
