Work Boat World Editorial – October 2012
I have just returned from a holiday spent sailing on the Ionian Sea in western Greece. Needless to say, I kept a good lookout for interesting work boats during my "odyssey".
Apart from one very interesting and impressive, Greek built, day cruise boat and a very neat fast water-taxi, I didn't see any noteworthy new or nearly new boats.
What I did see, however, were a number of very innovative conversions or re-cyclings of older work boats. These were mostly now engaged in aquaculture.
One, in particular, was a former double-ended, landing craft style, Ro-Pax ferry. It was being used as headquarters for an extensive fish farm.
Its upper-passenger deck was used as accommodation and offices while its car deck was used as a warehouse, work shop and as a quay for various support boats. A very neat and, presumably, economical solution.
At another farm I was surprised to see, among its support craft, a former West Australian lobster boat. With the rapid decline of that industry many of its highly capable catcher boats have found new homes in the offshore oil and aquaculture sectors. This, however, was the first I have seen beyond Australian waters.
Greece, with its enormous marine tourism industry is a happy hunting ground for the work boat sector. Of course, its current economic woes require its work boat operators to be more than usually practical and innovative. I can recommend it as a wonderful place for a sailing holiday as well as a good source of ideas re vessel re-cycling.
Related to the subject of vessel re-cycling is the whole wider field of Offshore Service Vessels (OSVs). Until a few years ago OSVs were entirely focused on the offshore hydrocarbon industry.
Those with longer memories will recall that the OSV sector largely developed from the fishing industry. However, in many ways, they are still closely related.
OSVs have steadily become larger, more powerful and more versatile in the half century of their existence. Meanwhile, their designs and equipment have been adopted and adapted by the offshore wind farm, coastal construction and aquaculture sectors. It won't be long before they are utilised, too, by the undersea mining and wave and tidal energy sectors.
Further related to both the above subjects. The offensive nature of fish farming was very clearly seen in Greece. It is only a matter of time before public opinion will force fish farmers to behave better.
The stench emitted from fish farms is bad enough but the fish faeces and unused feed do enormous damage to the sea bed and sea life immediately beneath and down current from them.
Further, most existing fish farms are very ugly.
Someday soon, fish farmers, acting in their own best interests, will realise that larger, more moveable, more aesthetic farms are the only way to go. Equipment will have to be bigger and more seaworthy to enable them to operate further offshore and to be more readily moved.
When, not if, that happens they will require bigger more powerful vessels to service them. Those vessels will be very closely akin to today's OSVs.
Older readers of this magazine will recall Mark Clevenger who was a regular editorial contributor in the eighties and nineties.
Mark was a marine industry fanatic who was based in Seattle, USA when it was a hot bed of fishing and work boat activity. He was a very professional journalist of the old school – a pleasure to work with.
He was a fount of local knowledge and very well connected across the whole Pacific North-West maritime industry.
Mark passed away peacefully in September. We will miss him.
Neil Baird