"As a business rooted in coastal communities, it is important to us that we continue backing the people, yards, and supply chains that play such an important role in our operations," said Bakkafrost Scotland's Managing Director.
Photo: Nick Mailer / Bakkafrost Scotland.
Bakkafrost Scotland, the British subsidiary of the Faroese aquaculture company and one of Scotland's leading salmon producers, announced that it has placed contracts with Scottish yards that will involve an investment of GBP 4.4 million in maritime work to support employment in the northeast and west coast.
The investment is divided into two projects. Firstly, Bakkafrost has awarded a GBP 3.5 million contract to Macduff Shipyards in Aberdeenshire for the new construction of a bespoke moorings and heavy site works vessel. Secondly, Bute Boat Builders has been commissioned to refurbish a feed barge for GBP 0.9 million.
"These latest projects are another significant investment in our marine operations and in the skilled businesses that support salmon farming around Scotland's coast," said Ian Laister, Managing Director at Bakkafrost Scotland.
"As a business rooted in coastal communities, it is important to us that we continue backing the people, yards, and supply chains that play such an important role in our operations," he added.
Designed for moorings work at farm sites, with specialist lifting and towing equipment and thrusters to help crews operate safely around pens, the new 21-meter by nine-meter vessel that Macduff Shipyards is going to build in Aberdeenshire will be used for moorings work across Bakkafrost Scotland's farms. Its delivery is scheduled for September 2027.
"The new vessel has been designed around the day-to-day needs of our farming operations and will strengthen our capability across farm sites for years to come," Ian Laister explained.
The Scottish salmon producer highlighted that this GBP 3.5 million investment will serve to improve the resilience of its maritime operations and help develop specialized skills among its staff.
In addition, the contract will help maintain approximately 250 jobs and more than 10 apprenticeship programs at Macduff Shipyards, as well as generating activity throughout the supply chain in northeast Scotland.
The project in Bute, meanwhile, will involve the refurbishment of a feed barge, which will be put back into service by Bute Boat Builders. The work will include cleaning the barge, removing damaged equipment, and carrying out mechanical and electrical upgrades.
The company said the project will also reuse equipment from a smaller barge that will be replaced, making practical use of existing assets while supporting specialized maritime work on the island.
This was also highlighted by the Managing Director of Bakkafrost Scotland. "The refurbishment work on Bute shows how existing assets can be repurposed and returned to service through the expertise that exists within Scotland’s marine sector," Laister stated.
Once completed, the feed barge will have a food storage capacity of 300 tons and will be destined for Bakkafrost Scotland's Loch Fyne center.
As the company highlighted in its release, these contracts are not Bakkafrost Scotland's first with these yards. In the case of Macduff Shipyards, the salmon company has already invested over GBP 11 million through a series of vessels, supporting skilled jobs and activity across the maritime supply chain in northeast Scotland.
Regarding Bute Boat Builders, the shipbuilder recently delivered it a GBP 1.2 million landing craft, the Spirit of Bute. This order brings Bakkafrost Scotland's investment in shipbuilding on Bute to approximately GBP 7.2 million across seven vessels, helping to sustain maritime engineering activity on the island.
With more than 400 employees across 45 sites on the west coast of Scotland, the Hebridean islands, and at its head office in Edinburgh, Bakkafrost Scotland plays an important role in bringing long-term quality employment to remote and rural communities.
Recently, the company celebrated the official opening of its multi-million-pound RAS facility in Appelcross, central to its ambition to become the most sustainable Scottish salmon producer, and part of the plans for "transformative investment" in its Scottish operations to radically transform Bakkafrot Scotland's business by 2028.