VESSEL REVIEW | Tauroa – Large-capacity stun and bleed vessel for operation in central Norway
Sefine Shipyard of Turkey has handed over a new stun and bleed vessel to Norwegian seafood company Napier.
Tauroa was designed by Norwegian naval architecture firm Salt Ship Design in compliance with DNV class requirements. The vessel’s primary role is to transport harvested fish from offshore fish farms in central Norwegian waters and to process these while underway.
Because immediate processing will be done on board, it helps reduce handling and stress, resulting in higher product quality.
Hybrid propulsion allowing navigation in sensitive fish farm sites
The newbuild has an LOA of 69.99 metres (229.6 feet), a moulded beam of 15 metres (49 feet), a draught of 5.4 metres (18 feet), and a total RSW tank capacity of 1,000 cubic metres (35,000 cubic feet). Napier CEO Kjetil Tufteland said it is the largest pure process vessel of its type in terms of dimensions and capacity.
Accommodation is available for up to 17 crewmembers, though Napier said that only 12 personnel will be embarked regularly.
The hybrid propulsion setup, which consists of two Bergen 2,880kW (3,860hp) engines and a 500kWh battery pack, drives a Finnoy propeller and gear arrangement to deliver a service speed of 14 knots. A Volvo Penta generator is available for emergency and port use.
The propulsion arrangement also includes Brunvoll side thrusters and a Kongsberg steering system.
Closed-loop processing for improved fish quality and minimal environmental impact
According to Napier, fish can be loaded into the RSW tanks at a rate of up to 200 tons – the equivalent weight of roughly 36,000 fish – per hour. Sefine meanwhile said up to 75 fish can be processed per minute.
The onboard fish processing equipment was provided by MMC First Process, Seaquest, Optimar and Baader. Fish is loaded via two Seaquest pumps and transported to a sorting table and then to a Baader 48-channel impact and stun system with a capacity of 200 tons per hour.
The Baader system performs accurate stunning and bleeding that results in immediately and irreversibly stunned fish, and the process does not interfere with heart activity as it continues to pump, giving an optimal bleed out result.
The fully-closed loop systems eliminate the exchange of water with the environment, thus reducing the risk of diseases being transmitted. The systems can also be monitored and controlled remotely from the bridge.
The electronics include Furuno radars and a Zenitel package consisting of a PA/general alarm system, a VSP telephone system, an intercom, and pan-tilt-zoom CCTV cameras with dedicated monitors and joystick control. In the wheelhouse are crew seats from Alu Design while Ekornes furniture, Libra-Plast doors and Glamox lights are fitted throughout the vessel.
Supporting Mowi's salmon harvesting activities
The crew facilities include a mess, a galley, a gym, a gaming room, and a day room with a widescreen TV. The galley equipment was supplied by Beha-Hedo Marine while Jets provided the sewage systems for the toilets.
Outside on deck are Palfinger Marine cranes, a Gurskoy gangway, and Viking lifeboats. Jotun paint was used on the exterior surfaces.
Tauroa is Napier’s fifth current active vessel and is being operated in support of Norwegian salmon harvester Mowi, particularly its onshore processing activities on the island of Jøsnøya west of Trondheim.
According to Per Ivar Roald, Baader’s Vice President for Aftermarket and Business Development, Mowi had requested that the vessel be equipped to ensure the longest possible time from stunning/bleeding until the fish goes into rigour as well as as the best possible quality without blood stains or back kinks.
Tautiki, another vessel from the same series, is under construction at Sefine Shipyard and is scheduled to be handed over to Napier early next year.
