Advanced new wellboat starts operations in Norway

The vessel, named the Tauroa, was commissioned by shipping company Napier. It can load up to 200 metric tons of salmon per hour and can handle up to 750 tons on board in the RSW (refrigerated sea water) tanks.

The Tauroa arrived by sea from the shipyard in Turkey and to Langevåg in Bømlo, the haeadquarters of Napier.

Napier said it was a proud day in the shipping company’s 30-year history.

Tauroa is the first of two boats ordered at Turkey’s Sefine Shipyard. Napier described it as a unique ship that sets a new standard for process vessels on a global basis. It is 70 metres long and is, Napier said, the world’s largest and most advanced vessel in its segment. 

The vessel has already started operations at Mowi’s new slaughterhouse on Jøsnøya in Hitra municipality, Norway.

Napier Group CEO Kjetil Tufteland said: “ We work tirelessly in the pursuit of improvements. Every year we invest significant time and resources in R&D to build knowledge and further develop our existing vessels, as well as to prepare next-generation design concepts .”

Commercial Director Jahn Helge Bjørnestad added: " The position of the process vessel in the value chain is already well established based on its many advantages. With these new vessels we are introducing a significant efficiency improvement, in order to further reduce relative operating costs in large-scale aquaculture .”

Napier AS has 72 employees, and operates four boats and an administration in Langevåg, Bømlo.

The company is growing and has taken over three newbuildings in recent years – the shipping company also has plans for further expansion. Its vessels operate along the entire Norwegian coast, from Agder in the south to Bodø in the north.

Napier’s boats are named after cities or areas in New Zealand. This is because the founder of Napier, Bernt Arne Eidesvik, had a special connection with the country, and chose to name its first vessel, Tauranga, after a city there.