Fish Farmer

Aqua Nor - feed barges

Cutting feed costs is number one priority with state of the art system from AKVA Group

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Regional focus

Berthed in Skansen docks for the Aqua Nor week was AKVA’s new 850-tonne steel feed barge for Marine Harvest. It was handed over during the Trondheim show and will service a large farm, with up to 7,200 tonnes of salmon, in nearby Fosen. The barge is AKVA’s biggest model yet and the second to be delivered

The sophistica­ted feeding system, with 12 parallel feed lines, can be remote controlled from the shore, said AKVA systems engineer Per Age - vide the 150 to 180 tonnes a day required at Fosen during peak periods.

The 12 feed lines can feed 24 cages of 160m, said Nessa, who also operation.The Marine Harvest barge cost 25 million NOK and will have a lifespan of around 15 years. Filled to capacity, it holds 8.5 million NOK

The AC 850 Panorama barge is delivered with AKVAconnec­t Barge Control.This provides updated informatio­n about all the systems on board at all times.This informatio­n is available on monitors strategica­lly located around the barge, as well as in the control room.

This gives the farm staff and operation manager access to a lot of informatio­n simultaneo­usly.AKVAconnec­t helps them stay in control of the operations, giving them a complete overview of every process taking place on board the barge, said Nessa.

Tore Obrestad, technical manager at AKVA Group headquarte­rs, said this system will show online feed levels for each silo and remote controlled silo hatches allow loading feed with no farm staff on board.

‘With this system and broadband internet, it is possible to operate the barge and run feeding processes from any other location.’

while the pH value is continuous­ly logged and maintained.

‘This ensures high quality silage that can be sold as a by-product, instead of having to pay to get rid of it,’ said Obrestad.

heights of approximat­ely 4.5 meters (8.5m maximum).

To minimise the overall environmen­tal emissions from the barge, Marine Harvest has chosen environmen­tally friendly solutions.The barge will run off the main power grid from shore as the main power source, minimising the use of onboard diesel electric generators.They have also chosen to install AKVA Group’s new modular system for biological handling of wastewater.

AKVA recently delivered two 450 tonne steel feed barges to Marine - land told Fish Farmer, was a ‘turning point’ for Scotland and he believes others may follow the ‘Norwegian way’.

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 ??  ?? Clockwise from top: The new barge in Skansen harbour; part of the feeding system; remote controls; AKVA’s Per Andreas Hjetland (far                                            manager Ola Hausken                                        Marine Harvest crew
Clockwise from top: The new barge in Skansen harbour; part of the feeding system; remote controls; AKVA’s Per Andreas Hjetland (far manager Ola Hausken Marine Harvest crew
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