Rimfrost to build innovative krill vessel

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Rimfrost has awarded a contract to Westcon to build a new krill fishing vessel worth than NOK 1 billion. The maritime cluster in western Norway’s Sunnmøre region and other Norwegian enterprises stand to secure almost NOK 500 million in orders from the project. Rimfrost has collaborated closely with Westcon and the maritime cluster over the choice and design of technology and equipement.

“This will be the biggest fishing vessel we’ve ever built,” said Westcon CEO Øystein Matre, in a press releae. “We’re very proud of the assignment to build a ship which will set a new environmental and sustainability standard.”

Designed by Kongsberg Maritime, the vessel will be 120 meters long with green technology that satisfies standards such as the DNV GL Clean Design class notation and the IMO’s Polar Code, where all processes are planned to minimize emissions and achieve extensive energy reuse. According to Rimfront, assessments by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) show that the raw material utilization on the ship will be significantly higher than competitors, while the processes use less energy. This mean that Rimfrost will be able to obtain the same amount of finished product while catching less krill.

“This will be the only vessel in the world where health food and food supplements are actually produced at sea immediately after catching,” explained Rimfrost principal shareholder Stig Remøy, in a press release. “Short and careful processing will be positive for product quality. This will allow us to develop a number of new products as food additives for human, animals and farmed fish as well as for pharmaceutical use.”

The vessel will be constructed in Turkey and estimated to be complete in 2022.