Gael Force Group has signed an exclusive agreement to partner with Dutch shipyard Nauplius Workboats to build its range of SeaFeed steel feed barges.
The long term international partnership boosts Gael Force Group’s engineering capacity and capability and will create an extended range of competitively positioned steel feed barges for aquaculture producers.
“Along with our own team’s experience in design and build, Nauplius’ levels of technical knowledge and overall experience in the sector offers us complete confidence that this partnership will bolster our robust and reliable range of feeding barges for fish farming,” said Stewart Graham, founder, owner and group managing director, Gael Force Group.
“As both companies are running a lean cost base and are very efficient producers, we believe we have a high quality and highly competitive offering. While this increases our production capacity to meet strong demand and we envisage this to be of great benefit to our Scottish customers, there is also potential for us to service our international customers, particularly those producers in Norway, Iceland, and the Faroes.”
Combined force
Graham said that partnering with Nauplius will enable Gael Force to strengthen and increase its barge building capacity while offering its customers favourable delivery times and a competitive package on its steel barges.
The Scottish aquaculture supply partner has experienced increased demand for barges this year and will continue developing and delivering a strong programme of new build and refurbished concrete barges from its main engineering yard in Inverness.
It is currently building two 400T SeaFeed barges with one already pre-sold to a major Scottish salmon producer and there are a number of other customers already interested in the second build.
As part of the agreement between the two companies, the structural build of the steel barge hulls, surface treatments and painting will take place at Groningen, Netherlands, before being towed across to Inverness for mechanical and electrical full fit-out and installation of the SeaFeed system by Gael Force.
The barge range covers feeding capacities up to 800T with the ability to flexibly accommodate options for hybridised power and secondary machinery and processes.
