Nessco AS, an Oslo, Norway-based supplier of compressors, vacuum pumps, blowers, and associated services, has been contracted by post-smolt facility FishGLOBE v5, the company announced on 29 May.
Nessco will supply compressor systems to FishGLOBE v5, a closed, floating post-smolt fish farm capable of storing 250 metric tons of fish. The objective of the facility – which measures 22 meters in diameter and 19 meters tall – “is to produce post-smolt up to one kilogram and utilize the closed cage to protect the fish at the early stage in the ocean,” Nessco said in a press release.
Compressors, air dryers, pressure tanks, and filter systems will all be supplied by Nessco, and will allow for FishGLOBE v5 to perform valve control and catch dead fish. The equipment supplier will also provide a blower to be used for emptying FishGLOBE v5 for fish, transferring them to a wellboat, the company said.
“We deliver some of the market’s most energy efficient air compressors and we understand that this has been a deciding factor when choosing the supplier," Nessco Managing Director Christian Ness said. "This is easy to understand when the FishGLOBE concept is developed with a view to make the fish farming industry more sustainable, profitable, and with even better fish welfare. We are therefore very proud to be chosen as supplier to this groundbreaking project."
Nessco said it will provide the compressed air systems as a subcontractor to Sandnes-based company Icon Systems AS, which will oversee project management and run procurement and installation of all technical equipment for FishGLOBE v5, as well as the delivery of control systems, instrumentation, and electronics. Equipment will be delivered by Nessco to Stathelle in Telenmark, where the FishGLOBE v5 facility is being built by Uponor Infr. The value of the contract has not been disclosed by Nessco, however, the company noted that this agreement is of great importance to it.
“You only get one chance to impress in the fish farming industry," said Torbjørn Vindenes, Nessco’s regional manager for Hordaland and Rogaland. "When a company is about to launch and demonstrate that a new production concept for post-smolt works exactly as it should, it is vital to choose cooperation partners and suppliers that can offer top notch quality at competitive prices. This contract confirms that our technology is considered the most reliable in the market, and that is why it is strategically important to us."
Once construction of FishGLOBE v5 is completed, it will be towed to Stavanger, Norway, for installation of technical equipment and then taken to Oanes, where the closed-cage will be tested prior to the first full launch of smolt – planned for October – in the sea approximately 100 meters from shore in Lysefjorden.
Headquartered in Oslo, Norway, Nessco provides to the aquaculture industry with vacuum pumps for production of fish feed; compressors; vacuum pumps and blowers to feeding systems; side channel blowers for hatcheries; vacuum and compressor solutions for fish production sites; and compressors for use in algae control.
Image courtesy of FishGLOBE.
