The Cemre Shipyard in Turkey has launched the world’s largest wellboat for owners Sølvtrans, which will on completion head for Tasmania for a ten-year lease to Huon Aquaculture.
The 116 metre LOA, 23 metre breadth Ronja Storm, which will be making the long delivery trip to Huon Aquaculture in Tasmania towards the end of this year.
The largest vessel of its kind anywhere in the world, Ronja Storm has been built at Cemre and is due to be fitted out in Norway by Havyard. Huon is due to take over the vessel on a ten-year lease from owners Sølvtrans and its role will be to transport and bathe salmon using a system designed to combat amoebic gill disease. This bathes the salmon in fresh water, which causes the amoeba to drop off the gills of the fish.
“We are pleased to confirm that the Ronja Storm has been launched and is now on its way to Norway. We expect that it will be delivered to Tasmania by November this year,” said Huon Aquaculture CEO Peter Bender.
“The Ronja Storm is our biggest vessel yet and it will be an asset that will ensure Huon’s long-term success.”
With its 12,000m3 capacity, it is more than double the size of any other wellboat in operation, and when it arrives in Tasmania, it is expected to take over the role of the company’s current wellboat, Ronja Huon, which will be used as dedicated harvest vessel as well as being available as a backup.
“Dedicating Ronja Huon to harvest translates to better biosecurity outcomes. We will achieve this as all of the water brought to shore with the harvest fish will be returned to the vessel for disinfection before it is returned to the ocean, minimising the risk of pathogen transfer,” Peter Bender said.
“The amount of technology that is going into the vessel is truly astounding. It really is the cutting edge of salmon farming. Ronja Storm will have its own desalination plant which can produce 700 tonnes of fresh water in an hour. This will allow us to operate more efficiently and reduce pressure on Tasmania’s water supply. We are thrilled to be on the cutting-edge of salmon farming and I believe that the Ronja Storm will enable us to be even better farmers.”
