The latest vessel to join the aquaculture industry is the 73.40 metre LOA by 16.45 metre beam Bakkanes, which has been commissioned to operate for Faroese fish farming group Bakkafrost, operating mainly on sites in Scotland.
The former oil industry supply vessel Viking Athene has been converted at the Mest Shipyard in Skála and renamed Bakkanes. It has been fitted with an FLS delousing system for handling salmon held in cages along the Scottish coast.
Bakkanes is a sister vessel to Martin, which was acquired by Bakkafrost in 2016 and repurposed for its aquaculture operations.
From the Mest yard, Bakkanes sailed to Bakkafrost’s headquarters in Glyvrar for a reception with more than five hundred guests in attendance, welcomed by Bakkafrost CEP Regin Jacobsen.
The guest list included Magnus Rasmussen, Minister of Environment, Industry and Trade, Torbjørn Jacobsen, mayor of Runavík municipality, and Ian Laister, CEO of The Scottish Salmon Company, who all spoke at the reception.
Bakkanes has now commenced operations, and it will primarily operate in Scottish waters.
