Southampton Marine Services (SMS) has won a contract to build a 24m aquaculture workboat for tuna farm operator Fish and Fish Ltd in Malta.
The 24m long vessel will feature Caterpillar Acert 18 600bh engines, Twin 4 Blade F propulsion and will be used for tuna harvesting and aquaculture/fish farm logistical and maintenance support.
David Azzopardi, director of Fish and Fish Ltd, said: “This represents a major investment for Fish and Fish Ltd, and it illustrates not only the strength of our business but also our belief in the environmental sustainability of the aquaculture industry here in Malta.”
Good for UK
UK-based SMS, which builds workboats under its Bulldog brand, agreed the contract with Fish and Fish following Seawork 2018.
The contract is a major win “given both the scale of the opportunity and the obvious competition from Europe,” according to John Buck, SMS’ business development manager.
“We’ve listened to the client, customised our offering, and via a competitive process we’ve won the build,” he stated.
“This project is particularly exciting given the size of the market in Malta and the environmental innovation that we’ve built into the design with regards to the containment and management of fish oil.”
The vessel is expected to be delivered to Fish and Fish in mid-summer 2019.
