Fuelling change at Seawork 2022
Seawork, the trade show dedicated to the commercial marine and workboat market, was back in Southampton on 21-23 June for its 23rd edition. Despite a rail strike, it attracted a footfall of nearly 6,500 industry professionals – and it also provided a showcase for the latest green initiatives in the sector.
Aquaculture is one of the key industries this sector serves, and one company which is actively building a presence in that market is the Berthon Boat Company headquartered in Lymington, Hampshire.
Director Dominic May explained to Fish Farmer that Berthon had also attended the Aquaculture UK exhibition, held in Aviemore in May, to promote two diesel engine brands – Cox and Neander. Each of these offers lighter and more fuel-efficient power options for ribs and smaller craft used in aquaculture operations. The Cox is a 300hp engine and the Neander a 50hp so between them and using one or more engines they can offer different power outputs to meet the operating needs of any particular craft around a fish farm.
May commented: “These two engine brands each offer lighter engines, providing better fuel efficiency than petrol, with 20-30% savings or more. Both manufacturers are looking to develop other engine sizes. We had a very good experience at the Aquaculture UK show and we see this market as one that we can build a presence in.”
Also looking at entering the aquaculture market is Harland & Wolff which operates four shipyards, with two in Scotland, one in Northern Ireland and one in Devon. The company says it can provide wide-ranging support for vessels or new vessel projects, ranging from initial consultancy to detailed engineering and fabrications, whether new builds or refits and repairs for vessels between 10 and 150 metres.
From Damen with LUV
Damen used Seawork to promote its expanding association with the aquaculture industry through the development of a class of LUV (Landing Utility Vessel) – the LUV 2208. This class of vessel is being built in the UK, to a Damen design, through a partnership between Damen and Coastal Workboats based at Exeter. Coastal Workboats has plans to open a shipyard in Scotland and has already set up a subsidiary, Coastal Workboats Scotland, to oversee this development. The company is understood to have a site for a new shipyard on the Clyde but at this stage it is not known when this new yard will be built.
A third company in the Coastal Workboats group is Coastal Workboats Support Services Ltd and this trio of businesses is evolving into a diverse group to specifically serve the Aquaculture sector. A first series of LUV 2208 workboats between 16 and 19 metres have been built so far and a further batch of four is planned to be built through 2022-23.
As to the LUV 2208 class, Mike Besjin, Damen’s Sales Manager for North, West and South Europe – and responsible for the Aquaculture vessels – told Fish Farmer: “We are building seven of these LUV craft with a 19m vessel sold to Organic Sea Harvest and another to Kames Sea Farms. Some of the seven units will be of 22 metres in length.”
As a designer and builder of aquaculture vessels, MacDuff Ship Design Ltd is a key UK player. Among its recent builds were the Helen Rice and Kallista Helen plus the Geraldine Mary which was delivered in June 2022.
Ian Ellis, Managing Director of MacDuff Ship Design Ltd told Fish Farmer: “We have two vessels in build for Shetland Mussels with a 19-metre due for delivery later this year and we are hopeful of a new contract for an 18.5 metre workboat.”
He also spoke of a 12-metre craft which will be hybrid-diesel powered and indicated that there was a lot of change under way in the market, with more and more vessels with hybrid power systems being considered.
Uplifting Italians
Also exhibiting at Seawork 2022 were two Italian suppliers of cranes to the aquaculture sector. HS.Marine was promoting its range including a standard range of foldable knuckle telescopic cranes and combined knuckle telescopic cranes, as well as an extensive range of traditional cylinder operated box boom cranes.
Amco Veba Marine is also Italy-based. Massimo Magli, the company’s Business Development & Sales Director, explained: “Our cranes reflect the technical expertise and extensive experience of a company that has recently enhanced its offering to meet the individual needs of its customers even better than ever before.”
Located in Italy, Amco Veba Marine is the dedicated marine crane brand of Hyva Group, one of the global leaders in its sector. Amco Veba Marine has been part of the Hyva Group since 2007 drawing on the synergies of a strong, multi-national corporation.
Magli added: “Hyva is headquartered in the Netherlands, with more than 3,500 employees, operating across a variety of sectors with 12 plants and over 30 fully-owned subsidiaries around the world. Under the Hyva Group, Amco Veba Marine has reinforced its position as a well-known and respected brand around the world.”
He revealed that the company has recently defined a strategic plan backed up by considerable investment to further develop the marine business by enhancing the product range and adding new, larger crane versions as well as developing a fully dedicated sales and service network worldwide. A new logo has also been created to improve brand awareness.
“There is now a much stronger focus and commitment on promoting Amco Veba Marine as a brand specifically dedicated to cranes designed and developed for marine applications,” said Magli.
“The idea of the five year investment programme is to offer a complete range of marine cranes including the bigger version within a few years. To this end we have made some internal changes to further improve our engineering capability,” he stated.
“In regards to the product range, the company now has five new crane models available: the VR24, VR34, VR40, VR60 and VR62 fully foldable and with endless rotation,” he pointed out. “The models are equipped with a radio remote control system, and specific fibreglass plastic protection covers to grant a perfect resistance to the environment, protect the important main crane components and give the crane aesthetic appeal.”
Under its new strategy, both products and services have been enhanced. The company has recently introduced a Multi-Level Protection (MLP) programme, to allow customers to choose different crane protection levels for the environment in which a crane is expected to operate, from softer ambient conditions to the most severe and harsh humid salt environments.