Partners by design

“We bring them on board gently, and once they’re in our closed system they can be treated for lice and other diseases. We also have cooling systems to gradually reduce water temperature during transportation – that helps to keep the fish calm and stress-free and leads to improved fish quality.

“None of the water from our systems goes into the ocean during transportation or offloading, and once the fish are delivered the water is treated to make sure we don’t release or spread lice or disease from our wells.

“For the fish, it’s almost like being on a cruise ship – they’re treated just as well as wealthy passengers on a luxury cruise would be while they’re with us. We aim always to deliver the best for them and for our customers. That’s why partnerships with companies like Kongsberg Maritime and Myklebust are so important to us.”

TRUE COLLABORATION

The relationship with KONGSBERG began in 2009, with the design of a vessel to meet new standards for fish welfare and disease control. This same collaboration also saw Myklebust Verft create the first of several vessels for Sølvtrans, and established a three-way partnership that continues to this day.

“It means we buy everything from the top shelf. And if what we need hasn’t been developed, we can all work together to find the best existing solutions and plan future adaptations. Relationships like these are the reason this sector is working as well as it is.”

Myklebust Verft had been a long-time partner of Kongsberg Maritime even before the first Sølvtrans commission. For the shipbuilder, that existing relationship was important when moving on to the new project.

“Building on an earlier project with a client means there’s already a relationship in place,” says Managing Director Inge-Jonny Hide. “That’s very important. These are complex products, so when you can have open dialogue between all parties, the designers and builders, the suppliers and the client, it creates a lot of open doors. That helps us all to trust each other and to share thoughts, experiences and ideas openly.”

“For example, in water treatment methods we’ve moved from the use of various additives to the use of pure freshwater. That’s driven a lot of design changes. The size of the vessels has increased significantly over time, and they’ve had to meet new safety standards.

“The safety of the crew and vessel is a priority and has led to various design changes, for example in areas of the ship that might traditionally have been exposed to weather and sea conditions but are now enclosed to protect the people on board.”

Sølvtrans is also looking for ways to increase energy efficiency, from making small changes like installing low-energy LED lights to real design innovations like fuel efficiencies and introducing battery technology.

Each and every change, whatever the scale, has an impact across the collaborators – and not only in terms of design, but in terms of how they do business, too

“It’s definitely more on the agenda,” says Inge-Jonny Hide. “Sustainability has always been part of our business, because it’s what our customers want, but we had never put a label on it as something we were doing for ourselves.

“But as a shipyard we’re starting to look at our sustainability dashboard and how we can use it. We’re increasing our focus in terms of daily production, we’re much more aware for example of things like loose plastics and our transportation systems.

“In part, those efforts are coming about because they’re what our customers want – customers are pulling us into a more sustainable future!”

Similarly, KONGSBERG’s sustainability drive is also influenced and supported by customer demand. In fact, the company’s ship design business has been involved in research programs with customers in the aquaculture sector, including Sølvtrans, focusing on understanding the impact that transportation and handling has on both the fish and on the ocean.

It’s research that has come in extremely useful in the company’s work with Sølvtrans and Myklebust Verft.

Fish welfare and environmental impact has been KONGSBERG’S main focus, and resulted in a continuous development of the vessel design and the technology offered.

The development has been fast-paced, often resulting in modifications during the building and after the vessels have entered operation. Continuous development requires close cooperation between owners, designers and shipyards, not only to ensure the best result but also to reduce the impact on cost and time.