VESSEL REVIEW | Bakkafossur – Hybrid wellboat for Faroese seafood company

Faroe Islands-based seafood company Bakkafrost has taken delivery of a new large hybrid wellboat built by Sefine Shipyard of Turkey to a design by Danish naval architecture firm Knud E. Hansen.

Named Bakkafossur, the DNV-classed vessel has a length of 109.2 metres, a moulded beam of 22.2 metres, and four wells with a combined capacity of 10,000 cubic metres for transporting up to 1,000 tonnes of live salmon from offshore cages to shore-based processing facilities.

MMC First Process supplied the handling, sorting, and treatment systems, which also include two 600mm lines for loading live fish into the wells. Control of these systems is automated and can be performed from just one workstation.

The wellboat will also be fitted with a sea lice removal system. Also installed are a dynamic positioning system that controls four 1,000kW side thrusters and a desalination plant capable of producing up to 6,000 cubic metres of fresh water every 24 hours for delousing salmon. As the vessel can produce its own fresh water, there is no need to access separate dedicated facilities. All processing equipment is electrically driven.

Bakkafrost said treating salmon with fresh water is an efficient way to rinse the gills, restore gill health, and ensure more robust and healthy growth.

The diesel-electric propulsion system delivers a speed of 13.5 knots while large batteries ensure what Bakkafrost claims is an increase in energy efficiency of approximately 20 per cent, as energy consumption will be optimal at all times. The vessel either uses the energy from the accumulators, or it stores energy in the accumulators, when additional energy is produced, as one of the five diesel generators starts. In addition, the vessel will be connected to shore-based electrical sources when at berth, allowing for low-noise operation. The 1,056kWh battery pack was supplied by Corvus Energy.

The strategic placement of the engines on the top deck also secures the opportunity for a swift change to propulsion systems running on low-emission alternative fuels when these become available in future. On top of the machinery deck house, there is space for 16 ISO containers for storing future green fuel.

A deck machinery package from Red Rock consists of five cranes specially designed for the vessel. The package also includes a specialised command station on the bridge to allow a single crewmember to control the cranes.

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