Hybrid Well Boat Joins Bakkafrost's Faroe Islands Fleet

One of the global aquaculture industry's largest well boats has recently joined Bakkafrost's Faroe Islands fleet.

The 109-meter Bakkafossur was built at the Sefine Shipyard in Turkey, and it was completed and delivered to Bakkafrost in December 2022.

The highly technological vessel can carry up to 1,000 tonnes of live salmon and is regarded as a huge upgrade to secure sustainable operations in the future. In addition to the five diesel-electric engines, the vessel is equipped with large batteries, ensuring an approximately 20% increase in energy efficiency. The placement of the engines on the top deck secures the opportunity for a swift change to sustainable energy solutions when such are available on the market.

Equipped with reverse osmosis technology for desalination of water with a production capacity of 6,000 tonnes of freshwater a day, Bakkafossur adds significant freshwater treatment capacity to Bakkafrost’s operations in the Faroe Islands. Treating salmon with freshwater is an efficient way to rinse the gills, restore gill health and ensure more robust and healthy growth. In addition, Bakkafossur will be equipped with an FLS sea-lice removal system, increasing biosecurity in line with Bakkafrost’s sustainability strategy.

Bakkafossur is also prepared for offshore farming.

Regin Jacobsen, CEO of Bakkafrost, said, “We need to see an increase in the supply of sustainable protein. Aquaculture and salmon farming in particular is regarded as one of the best solutions for sustainable food production when considering sustainability in the broadest sense. The Faroe Islands offer many opportunities – thus it is of vital importance that the will, skills and regulations facilitate the utilization of these opportunities. With Bakkafossur, we take a huge step towards both offshore farming and more sustainable operations. Our vision for the Faroe Islands is to increase our production output significantly to increase the general supply of sustainable ocean food, contributing to the sustainable transformation of the world’s food system.”