The world’s largest wellboat is going to be a well-travelled ship by the time it is delivered. It has been launched at the Cemre shipyard in Turkey, from where it will be towed to Havyard in Norway for completion, before being delivered to Huon Aquaculture in Tasmania on a long-term lease from its Norwegian owners.
The 116 metre LOA, 23 metre beam Ronja Storm is the largest vessel of its kind anywhere in the world, with a 12,000 cubic metre capacity, and will be used to transport and bathe salmon on board in fresh water to treat them for amoebic gill disease.
‘We are pleased to confirm that the Ronja Storm has been launched and is now on its way to Norway. We expect that it will be delivered to Tasmania by November this year,’ said Huon Aquaculture CEO Peter Bender.
‘The Ronja Storm is our biggest vessel yet and it will be an asset that will ensure Huon’s long-term success. The amount of technology that is going into the vessel is truly astounding. It really is the cutting edge of salmon farming. Ronja Storm will have its own desalination plant which can produce 700 tonnes of fresh water in an hour. This will allow us to operate more efficiently and reduce pressure on Tasmania’s fresh water supply. ‘
Ronja Storm will be leased to Huon for a period of ten years from Norwegian wellboat specialist Sølvtrans, and it will replace the company’s current wellboat Ronja Huon, which will be deployed as dedicated harvest vessel and will be available as a backup wellboat.
‘Dedicating the Ronja Huon to harvest translates to better biosecurity outcomes. We will achieve this as all of the water brought to shore with the harvest fish will be returned to the vessel for disinfection before it is returned to the ocean, minimising the risk of pathogen transfer,’ Peter Bender said.
‘We are thrilled to be on the cutting-edge of salmon farming and I believe that Ronja Storm will enable us to be even better farmers.’
