A hybrid power workboat – the first vessel of its kind to be used in Scotland’s aquaculture sector – is to be introduced to Scottish Sea Farms’ operations.
The 15-meter-long catamaran, “Laurence Knight,” will go into service this month on Scotland’s west coast. It will run primarily on its batteries and will help Scottish Sea Farms achieve CO2 savings of around 234 metric tons (MT) annually, as well as potentially cutting fuel costs by up to 50 percent.
The vessel was commissioned by Mull, Scotland-based boat operator Inverlussa Marine Services from Norwegian yard Moen Marin.
“There are similar hybrid vessels in Norway and we thought it was the right time to introduce this technology to our Scottish customers, who are committed to lowering their environmental impact,” Inverlussa Managing Director Ben Wilson said.
The boat can perform on-farm duties for five to six hours on one charge of its batteries, which can be charged from either of the two generators on board; Therefore, its generators do not need to be running when the boat is tied up alongside a salmon pen, assisting with a harvest or a net installation. Data can be collected from the batteries for later on-shore analysis, allowing Scottish Sea Farms to manage every individual cell within the battery pack to get the most efficient use out of it, the company said. The batteries have a typical life expectancy of 16 years and are also 100 percent recyclable, according to SSF.
Scottish Sea Farms Mainland Regional Director Innes Weir said the company believes the Laurence Knight will instill confidence in the future of hybrid technology across the salmon-farming sector. Weir said that a hybrid power trial currently running on the feed barge at the company’s Spelve farm on Mull has “opened the door,” saving around 83 MT of CO2 a year at its peak and showing how the technology can work. The new workboat goes further, he said.
“The system we have at Spelve is to pick up anything other than feeding fish. As soon as we need to feed, we turn the generator on,” he said. “If we can operate a hybrid system that is completely electric, with generators just used for recharging batteries, we can roll it out across our estate, on the barges and other energy-rich areas we want to hybridize.”
Laurence Knight increases Inverlussa’s fleet to 17 vessels. Five new jobs have been created to crew the boat in shift patterns.
“I think this type of vessel is going to become more common in the Scottish salmon farming sector as producers look for greener solutions. It’s an exciting project and we’re looking forward to getting it going,” Wilson said.
Scottish Sea Farms recently confirmed it will receive its first delivery of salmon eggs bred from fish grown at its own marine farms in early 2022, in a move aimed at future-proofing farmed fish welfare in the face of climate change. These first eggs will be transferred from its hatchery to the company’s marine farms around Scotland’s west coast and Northern Isles from the first quarter of 2023.
Photo courtesy of Scottish Sea Farms
