The top management and the numerous communications departments at Atlantic Sapphire have not been particularly forthcoming following the major fire in the company’s pilot plant in Denmark on Thursday night.
But following an enquiry by SalmonBusiness, the company issued a short confirmation: “The fire started in the new part of the Danish farm (“Langsand 2”), where we didn’t have any production or biomass. The loss of biomass was in the old section of the Danish farm, where the fire spread to (“Langsand 1”). Langsand 1 had approximately 200 tonnes in standing biomass consisting of fish that would be harvested in 2022.”
Miami-based founder and CEO Johan E. Andreassen chose to give his own reflections through his favourite platform, Twitter, on Friday night, UK time:
“It is heartbreaking to see that a decade of game-changing innovation is gone, writes Andreassen, who is relieved to see that there were no injuries during the fire.”
Heartbreaking to see a decade of game-changing innovation gone. Today, we’re relieved that there were no injuries and send our love to the team in DK. We’re proud to see the legacy of all the hard work in DK in the US, where the rest of AS is focused on one thing: EXECUTION!
— Johan Andreassen (@andreassenjohan) September 16, 2021
A number of analysts have speculated as to whether the company will now choose to forego rebuilding the fire-damaged facility in Hvide Sande, and instead use the insurance settlement to finance the next construction phase in the USA.
Read also: Atlantic Sapphire stock market value goes up in smoke
In his tweet, Andreassen fuels this speculation:
“We are proud to see the legacy of all the hard work in Denmark in the US, where the rest of Atlantic Sapphire is focused on one thing: EXECUTION!”
The plant in Hvide Sande, then called Langsand Laks, was first bought by entrepreneurial duo Johan E. Andreassen and Bjørn-Vegard Løvik through their jointly owned investment company Alsco, when they chose to enter land-based salmon farming after the sale of the shares in the farming company Villa Organic.
Now, all that remains is ash and cooked fish.
