Aker BioMarine Building New Krill Vessel
The new vessel for fishing Antarctic krill will be 130 meters long.
Photo © iStockphoto.com/Tenedos
Aker BioMarine (Oslo, Norway) has announced plans to build a new, “state-of-the-art” fishing vessel that it will use to fish krill in the waters near Antarctica. The new vessel will be 130 meters long, and it will be constructed in Norway by VARD, a shipbuilding firm that has previously developed vessels for Aker. Still, the new fishing vessel will be unlike any of the others VARD has worked on.
“This is the largest single contract VARD has ever received for a fishing vessel, and we are very happy to have entered into a shipbuilding contract with them,” says Webjørn Eikrem, executive vice president of production and supply chain at Aker BioMarine, in a press release. “This will also contribute to securing Norwegian jobs in the future.”
The new vessel will also come equipped with the “latest and most advanced eco-friendly technology,” and plans will be developed through cooperation between Aker’s fisherman and VARD’s engineers.
“The krill fishery in Antarctica is one of the most sustainable fisheries in the world, and Aker BioMarine hopes to yet again set a new bar for sustainable harvesting with this new vessel,” says Matts Johansen, CEO at Aker BioMarine. “Norwegian skills and new technology will help us reduce our carbon footprint even further with this vessel.”
Aker will also be seeking financing through the Norwegian Export Credit Guarantee Agency (GIEK), according to a financing clause in the contract. The total value of the contract, including buyer’s supplies, is 1 billion NOK (approximately $120 million). Construction is planned to begin in May of 2017 and conclude by the end of 2018. Aker says it plans to put the new vessel into operation in the Antarctic in the beginning of the 2019 season.
Read more:
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Michael Crane
Associate Editor
Nutritional Outlook Magazine
michael.crane@ubm.com
