Carl-Erik Arnesen turns aside criticism of his new factory vessel.
On Wednesday, Bremnes Seashore CEO, Einar Eide, cautioned against the Hav Line Group’s new factory transport vessel. Eide said the Norwegian Gannet, which delivers next summer, is “a challenge, since the plan is to ship significant volumes to Denmark”.
“The danger is that some work along the Norwegian coast will be moved out,” Eide told a Norwegian newspaper.
Read Factory vessel a threat to coast
Seafood superpower
Hav Line’s newly hired fleet boss — former Firda and Alsaker director, Carl-Erik Arnesen — rejects the criticism from Eide.
“If Norway wants to retain its position as a world seafood superpower, then we in the aquaculture industry have to be on the lookout for better ways of doing things. Hav Line is one of many innovative ways by which the industry is developing,” Arnesen told SalmonBusiness.
“Hav Line wants to contribute with solutions to many of the industry’s challenges, and in that way increase the sector’s legitimacy and confidence in society at large,” he continued.
To illustrate his point, Arnesen said the following:
“Our boat makes the industry significantly more environmentally friendly and sustainable. One boatload alone will replace 50 trailer-transports to Europe and cut the industry’s carbon-dioxide footprint considerably. Likewise, that heavy transport comes off the roads. Once the fish is processed and supercooled when it arrives at the (distribution) plant, we need less ice in the boxes, consume fewer Styrofoam cases and therefore less plastic and energy. The fish gets to the consumer faster, so its freshness is extended, and we cut down on food waste. Less handling of live fish also ensures less risk of escapes.
“Our boat increases fish welfare and reduces mortality, which the industry is criticized for today. We do not transport living fish and we have no holding cages, which today is seen as an infection risk. Less handling of fish while it’s alive avoids unnecessary stress for the fish, provides better fish welfare and less mortality. It also means better quality in the end product,” he explained.
Creating value
Arnesen insists Hav Line is investing in the development of Norwegian jobs.
“We are proud of and belong to an industry that creates jobs and great value along the coast, and we are in agreeance with Einar Eide that Norwegian value-creation is important. That’s why we’ll also have a Norwegian crew on the vessel, and we’re not averse to delivering processed fish for distribution in Norway. So, our solution will not rule the industry, and we will be a profitable complement to today’s processors,” he submitted.
