Christening of MS Kristiansund and Gaso Hovding
Thursday 13 April was the christening of two of Frøy ASAs' boats and the official opening of what is the world's largest onshore power plant for well boats at Jøsnøya on Hitra.
It was the boats Kristiansund and Gåsø Høvding, which both go to Lerøy Midt, that were christened. The latter is considered the world's largest well boat. This boat has innovative solutions on board that have enabled the investments that will provide more sustainable food production and reduced climate emissions. The new onshore power plant at Lerøy Midt contributes to reducing the climate footprint by several thousand tonnes of CO2 equivalents annually. The project is a close collaboration between Lerøy Midt, Frøy ASA and NTE, which designed and built the onshore power plant.
Gåsø Høvding will deliver salmon to Lerøy's slaughterhouse, and has the capacity to load more than a thousand tonnes of live fish per hour. Total well volume is 7,500 cubic metres. Significant investments have been made to reduce the environmental footprint of the giant well boat. Among other things, the vessel can operate 100 percent on electricity when shore power is available. The new facility on Jøsnøya is designed so that the well boat can have full operational operation on shore power without using diesel during direct unloading of the slaughter fish.
- This is a significant investment for the future. The fact that we can use shore power instead of diesel for such large and energy-intensive operations is worth its weight in gold for both the environment and the entire seafood industry, says Andreas Moe, Operations Director for Brønnbåt in Frøy ASA.
In addition to the partners' efforts in this project, Enova has taken up to 40 percent of the budgeted investment costs.
At the event itself, there was a large turnout from far and wide, and a good atmosphere among the many guests. The shipyards Havyard and Møre Maritime and several of the suppliers who have assisted in the construction of the vessels were invited and present. Extra thanks to Ida Karoline Broholm and Kristin Furunes Strømskag for taking on honorable assignments as godmothers. Both boats were christened with bubbles in the forward side and are therefore ready for further service.