Norwegian aquaculture support company Frøy Gruppen has placed orders for two wellboats in a series to be built by Nantong Rainbow Offshore and Engineering Equipment (ROC) in China.
The contract with ROC is for firm two wellboats, though options are available for up to four additional vessels. ROC parent company the Rainbow Group said in an exchange filing that, if all options are exercised, the contract will have a total value of between CNY2.8 billion (US$420 million) and CNY 3.3 billion (US$490 million).
The wellboats will be classed by DNV. Each will have an LOA of 87.1 metres, a beam of 20.6 metres, and a live transport capacity of 4,500 cubic metres.
The fish transport and handling systems on each vessel will consist of a water circulation temperature control system with full redundancy on all critical components, a 600mm loading/unloading pipe system, and RO freshwater delousing equipment compliant with European standards.
The two firm wellboats are scheduled to be delivered in 2029.
The design of the wellboats was developed in-house by Frøy.