SkaMik wins Frøy delousing contract

Norwegian manufacturer SkaMik has won a contract to fit the world’s biggest delousing system for a vessel to be operated by the aquaculture services provider, Frøy Group.
Earlier this month Frøy acquired the 70-metre long Skandi Texel, a former supply vessel for the offshore oil and gas industry, from DOF Rederi AS, with a view to converting it into a delousing vessel.
Frøy has now selected SkaMik to refit the vessel with what will be the world’s largest delousing system. It is the first time SkaMik has carried out work for Frøy and Lars Ivar Elvertrø of Moen Marin, SkaMik’s long-term partner, said: “This is a historic agreement for all parties, and we are proud to get it in place… when the world’s largest service company makes an investment of this size, it sends a strong signal of the quality of the SkaMik system.”
He added that the SkaMik system delivers on fish welfare, delousing effect and capacity.
Geir Skarstad, general manager of SkaMik, said the company has made significant efforts in further developing its method. The result is a delousing system with a documented low stress load and good welfare during delousing. In addition, he said, the fish quickly recover appetite and are back to normal feeding after a short time.
Frøy’s Operations Coordinator, Karl Erik Saure, said he had great faith in the SkaMik system, and emphasised that fish welfare had been a major factor in the choice. At the same time, he added that the industry is now at are at a crossroads.
As he put it: “We must now prove that treatment boats can compete with well boats in terms of both price, quality and efficiency. It is bit of “to be or not to be”, but if there is a project that can prove it, this is it!”