“The game is on” say the shipping company.
Rostein, is aiming to pip Nordlaks to the post, to build the world’s first gas/hybrid salmon vessel.
The new boat, will be a nearly identical, but longer version of sister vessels “Ro West” and “Ro Fortune”. It will be built at Rostein-eide Larsnes Mechanical Workshop in Sunnmøre, western Norway.
If everything goes to plan, the boat will be completed until January 2020 as reported in NRK.
Sustainability
The cost of the hybrid boat will be between NOK 350 – 400 million (EUR 37 and 42.2 million), according to Rostein’s deputy managing director, Glen Bradley.
“We see that salmon farmers are concerned with sustainability and their green profile. In recent years, our focus has been on the implementation of emission-free treatment technology, and we now think it’s time to do our own battery hybrid experience and see how it affects emissions with the operation we have. We feel the time is right and that such technology is free from childhood diseases now,” he told SalmonBusiness.
“If this becomes the first hybrid, it’s a good momentum – we’ve understood that Nordlaks is going to get a gas hybrid around the same time, so the game is on,” Bradley smiled.
Repercussions
The plans were launched during a visit by Storting, Norwegian parliament’s, Nutrition Committee to Valderøya, an island off the west coast of Norway, on Monday.
“Our main point today was to tell the Storting Nutrition Committee about the enormous, and perhaps unknown, ring effects of aquaculture and that aquaculture is very concerned with sustainability and the environment. Not least, Rostein wants to be a leader in the wellboat industry,” Bradley continued.
Rostein has well-boats with diesel-electric propulsion, and the new boat will be the first with battery pack.
