Havfarm 1

In addition to crude oil, Norwegian salmon is probably the most profitable export product of the country of the fjords. In 2020, during the crisis in oil sector, the Norwegian economy was hopefully looking towards at the growing fishing industry. Those who had the opportunity to admire the beauty of the Norwegian fjords may have stumbled upon one of the hundreds of fish farms scattered around the country in inconspicuous bays, or on more exposed water areas. These farms mainly deal with salmon farming, and the money from its sale to even the most distant corners of the globe is simply unimaginable.
Nordlaks, one of the leading salmon producers in northern Norway, reports production data for 2017 on its website. They processed 41,000 tonnes of salmon and rainbow trout from their own resources and around 29,000 tonnes from other companies. In 2015, the company established cooperation with the NSK Ship Design office to develop an innovative fish farm that could operate in deeper waters and would significantly contribute to increased production. The result was a structure that could hold 10,000 tons of salmon in six enormous networks. The project was given the name Havfarm, and it was to be first of two (initially three) units of this type.
Havfarm was designed as a semi-submersible unit. In the original version it supposed to have 430 meters long (which was finally shortened to 385 meters) and withstand 10-meter wave pressure. The colossus was to be deprived of its own propulsion (which was intended to be added in the next project), and to maintain it in a given position was to be ensured by an advanced mooring and anchoring system, located in the bow column. Works on this system were given to three engineering teams cooperating with each other.

The CIMC Raffles shipyard in China (Yantai, Shandong Province), specializing in the production of oil rigs, was chosen as the construction site for such a huge vessel. The farm was named Jostein Albert to honour Nordlaks’ longtime CEO, Jostein Albert Refsnes. Despite the outbreak of the coronavirus epidemic, the unit was successfully completed and launched in March and prepared for transport after necessary tests.
This task was charged to the world’s largest floating transport unit, BOKA Vanguard (until 2018 it was called Dockwise Vanguard). This ship, designed to carry powerful marine facilities such as ships or oil rigs, launched in 2012, can carry 110,000 tons of cargo. The length of the transporter is ‘merely’ 273m, but because of the completely flat end of the decks at the bow and stern, it was possible to place the Havfarm unit on it. The trip to the destination, near the island of Hadseløya in Lofoten, Norway was to take about 2 months. The greatest concerns were associated with crossing the Cape of Good Hope, where possible delays were anticipated due to frequent storms in this region. Fortunately, this was avoided.

The frame structure of the Havfarm project creates six huge steel cages, which provide space for enormous networks. Each of these networks, in the shape of a cuboid ended at the bottom with an inverted pyramid, will be able to hold about 1.7 tons of biomass. Nets measuring 47×47 meters, 56 meters deep and weighing 11 tons are made of high density polyethylene and coated with copper microparticles, which will increase their durability.
Early in the morning of June 13, 2020, BOKA Vanguard arrived with his cargo. The sight of such a powerful vessel in Norwegian waters caused quite a sensation. And although it is anticipated that before it begins to fully operation and the networks fill with salmon, it will be many weeks, the same day the smile did not leave the face of the owner of Nordlaks company, Inge Berg.
Below are some numbers that reflect the size of the Havfarm project.
total length 385.00 m
width 59.50 m
maximum draft 30.75 m
weight 33,000 tons
capacity of ballast tanks about 30,000 tons
load of 10,000 tonnes of biomass
construction cost approx. one billion Norwegian kroner