Norwegian shipyard Aas Mekaniske Verksted has awarded Hydroniq Coolers a contract to deliver its energy-saving, hull-integrated seawater cooling system to a vessel the shipbuilder is constructing for wellboat company Sølvtrans.
Under the contract, Aalesund-based Hydroniq Coolers, formerly Sperre Coolers, will supply its Rack seawater cooling systems to the wellboat. The Rack cooler differs from other cooling systems as it is integrated in the hull below the main engineroom. Here it safely reduces temperatures in the ship’s engines and other auxiliary systems through use of seawater – but without taking up valuable engineroom space.
‘When we developed the Rack cooler, we combined the benefits from box and plate coolers, without the disadvantages of either system,’ said Inge Bøen, CEO of Hydroniq Coolers.
‘For example, we combine the energy and space-saving features of a box cooler with the standardised steel structure and constant and efficient cooling of a plate heat exchanger – uniting all these qualities into one system. Additionally, the Rack offers a maintenance-friendliness that neither the box nor plate cooler can compete with.’
The company will manufacture and assemble the equipment at its headquarter in Ålesund and deliver it to Aas Mekaniske Verksted’s yard at Vestnes.
The wellboat is newbuild number 204 from Aas Mekaniske Verksted and will have storage capacity of 2500 cubic metres, equivalent to 375 tonnes of live fish. It will have an overall length of 69.69 metres long and a beam of 17.80 metres wide. Delivery is scheduled for October 2020.
The customer is Sølvtrans, the world’s largest wellboat company for transport of live salmon and trout. The company is in the forefront when it comes to ‘closed system’ technology, an environmentally friendly concept which limits the danger of infection.
‘Our hull-integrated seawater cooling system reduces power consumption, fuel costs and maintenance costs. As such, it is a good match for Sølvtrans’ environmental profile,’ Inge Bøen added.
