Company that wanted to build salmon catamarans at $41m a piece declared bankrupt

by
Aslak Berge

Green Ship Design has been declared bankrupt. But the project and the rights have been transferred to a new company.

A priest and teacher, Magnar Hellesøy had big ambitions. The 45-year-old sold his stake in the Hellesøy Verft shipyard and was aiming to raise NOK 300 million (US$34 million) for a new catamaran project.

Each catamaran was to be 90 meters long and 32 meters wide, and have room for 55 trailers, with 1,100 tonnes of salmon. Price tag per catamaran: US$41 million. The idea was to make the hull in Poland, while the boats were to be equipped in Norway.

Bankruptcy
According to Magnar Hellesøy, the aim of the investment was to remove the need to transport of salmon through time-consuming mountain passes and deliver over longer distances, without using aircraft. Initially, the salmon was to be transported from Bergen to Rotterdam.

One year after the plans were broadcast, Green Ship Design has been declared bankrupt. It was, as SalmonBusiness has mentioned several times before, an employee who filed for bankruptcy.

The trustee for Green Ship Design’s bankruptcy estate, appointed by Sunnhordland District Court, is lawyer Trond Eirik Samdal Nielsen.

SalmonBusiness has contacted Samdal Nielsen for comment.

However, founder Magnar Hellesøy cannot be stopped by bankruptcy. He has already transferred the project rights to a new company.

Exciting journey
“It has been a very exciting journey with Green Ship Design since 2018. Now, unfortunately, the company has been taken into bankruptcy proceedings by Sunnhordland District Court. We are now continuing the Green Ship project for the transport of salmon and other fresh goods through Green Ship Technology AS, which has taken over the Green Ship project and all the rights,” Hellesøy wrote in a press release last week.

Salmon Business has contacted Hellesøy to obtain supplementary and updated information on balance sheets and results for Green Ship Design. The company’s share capital, of NOK 30,000 (US$3,370), was lost already in 2019. Hellesøy has not returned our inquiries.

Illustration: Green Ship Design
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