Illustration of Frøy's new wellboat.
Image: Frøy
MS Veidnes, which its operators say is the world’s longest wellboat, was formally launched at a naming ceremony in Hammerfest harbour on Monday, with over 400 people in attendance.
Frøy, which owns and operates the vessel, stated in a LinkedIn post that Veidnes was developed with a focus on both fish welfare and energy efficiency. According to the company, the ship incorporates "world-leading Norwegian technology" and reflects their "long experience with construction and operation of wellboats".
The CEO of Cermaq, Kristin Vibeke Hurum, performed the traditional bottle-smashing ceremony at the boat's launch, an event which also featured public speeches from Tonje Foss, CEO of Frøy, and Gunnar Gudmundsson, regional director for Finnmark at Cermaq.
According to Frøy, the Veidnes crew will work in partnership with Cermaq to deliver farmed salmon to national and international markets. “We are proud of the crew on Veidnes, who are at the core of our deliveries,” the company said in its LinkedIn statement.
The vessel was designed by HAV Design, with fish-handling systems supplied by MMC First Process. Construction was carried out at Sefine Shipyard in Turkey.
Frøy thanked Cermaq for its continued collaboration during the vessel's development. “A big thank you to Cermaq for choosing to continue our long-standing partnership – and for a great collaboration during the construction and launch of MS Veidnes,” the company stated.
This week also saw another large aquaculture vessel make the headlines, with the announcement by GroAqua that what it claims as the "world's largest feed barge" has now been delivered to Bakkafrost in the Faroe Islands.
In September last year, the NB77 Seigrunn, a wellboat described at the time as "the world's largest fish carrier", was delivered to Seistar Holding, a company which is 50% owned by Lerøy Seafood Group.