Scottish Sea Farms takes delivery of semi-hybrid workboat

Scottish Sea Farms has taken delivery of a new semi-hybrid powered workboat specially designed to service larger pens and nets at its marine farms around Scotland’s west coast.

The Geraldine Mary, on long-term contract from Mull-based Inverlussa Marine Services, was designed and built in Scotland by Macduff Shipyards and will have a full-time crew of two with accommodation for two more if needed.

Equipped with a battery pack, the vessel will be able to use its harbour generators more efficiently, shutting them down overnight or between operations during the day to save on fuel and CO₂ emissions, as well as reducing noise.

At 21m long, the Geraldine Mary has capacity for a heavy duty 72-tonne metre crane to better handle the company’s new 120 and 160 metre marine pens.

Scottish Sea Farms’ Regional Production Manager for mainland, Innes Weir, said the company’s move to fewer but bigger nets and pens was part of an ongoing drive to further enhance fish health and welfare.

He explained: “Increasing the size of pens allows for greater separation between fish stocks and predators, while reducing the number of pens enables even more focused husbandry and fish health monitoring.

“However, the new infrastructure also demands more of our farm teams – requiring different ways of working – and of our service vessels.”

A sister ship to the Macduff-designed Helen Rice, which Scottish Sea Farms has operated under contract from Inverlussa for the past two years, the semi-hybrid Geraldine Mary marks another step towards greater sustainability, complementing the salmon farmer’s first fully hybrid workboat, the Laurence Knight, also commissioned by Inverlussa.

Inverlussa Managing Director Ben Wilson said the decision to introduce a semi-hybrid power system aboard the Geraldine Mary was a cost-effective, time-efficient amendment of an existing design, compared with going fully hybrid with a complete redesign.

He said: “It’s a vessel design we’ve had a lot of good experience with, and the semi-hybrid system is a big improvement on having generators running overnight. With a much larger forward crane and bigger deck winch than the Helen Rice, plus an extra cabin in the accommodation, it’s also a very versatile workboat.

“We have a lot of farms and we need to inspect them all every year, sometimes twice a year, and it’s something we take very seriously, working closely and communicating often with Inverlussa on the logistics and operational aspects of these vessels.”

SSF Regional Production Manager for Mainland, Innes Weir