The wellboat fleet has increased sixfold in nine years. These vessels were most active last year
Manolin's industry data cited in iLaks.no.
This article by Aslak Berge originally published in iLaks.no on January 22, 2021.
The large shipping companies Rostein and Sølvtrans dominate the activity.
The order books at the wellboat yards have been packed for a number of years. This specialized vessel segment has long been a billion-dollar store. While the few wellboats in the last decade mostly concentrated on transporting fish, the ever larger and more advanced vessels have gradually been given completely different tasks.
One of the most important tasks today is de-lice.
Active
More well boats means more total activities, which in turn means that the total number of registered mechanical treatments also increases.
The analysis company Manolin has taken a closer look at the activities of the wellboat fleet. And there is no doubt about which shipping company is most active in Norway.
- Manolin's industry data shows that Rostein had the most visited localities. The company's boats produced almost 28 percent of the total number of 2020 treatments in Norway, says Manolin CEO Tony Chen to iLaks.
Available
- "Ro Server", owned by Rostein, led with the most treatments in 2020 (190), followed by Mowi Star's "Seihav" (161) and Rostein's "Ro West" (133).
- There are more and more boats available in recent years. Scaling infrastructure is proving to be beneficial for breeders, who have few opportunities in the continuous fight against lice, says Chen.
Risk
- Several boats also provide complexity for handling fish health, as more treatments - even if necessary - endanger the fish's health and increase the risk of spreading diseases such as PD, ISA and pasteurellosis in Norway, says Chen.
"While innovation throughout Norway is developing systems at an incredible pace to minimize stress on fish and the spread of disease, we are not doing a good enough job of treating the cause of the problem," says Chen, adding: - Why do these diseases increase in the first place?
For more data on the state of Norwegian salmon farming, subscribe to Manolin’s newsletter.