© Inverlussa Marine Services
A leading Scottish aquaculture support company, Inverlussa Marine Services, has awarded a multi-million pound contract for a new hybrid workboat to support the country’s booming Scottish salmon sector. Inverlussa has commissioned MacDuff Shipyards to design and build the 25-metre vessel, which will be equipped with the latest technology.
Moray-based MacDuff Shipyards has a shining track record of designing and fabricating vessels for the aquaculture and fishing industries from its shipyard in Macduff and Buckie.
Construction of the vessel is expected to commence shortly, with plans for it to be operational and in the water by late 2025. Once up-and-running, the workboat will primarily support salmon farms off the west coast, as well as in Shetland and Orkney.
The vessel will be equipped with advanced crane capacities and deck equipment, including heavy-duty winches designed to lift and tow heavy objects such as feed barges. This specialised equipment will enhance the firm’s capacity for salmon farm mooring, grid handling, and net lifting, reflecting the increasing size of aquaculture equipment and maximising the safety and capability of its vessels and crew.
Intended to service larger sites operating in deeper, more exposed, and remote offshore locations, the vessel's design emphasises advanced seakeeping capabilities to provide a stable platform in rough seas.
“This is a state-of-the-art vessel from a Scottish shipyard with a first-class track record of building quality vessel for the aquaculture sector,” said Ben Wilson, Inverlussa managing director, in a press release.
“As well as providing a much-needed boost to the Scottish shipbuilding industry, the addition of this vessel to our fleet will provide even greater capacity to our thriving Scottish salmon sector and provide increased capacity and capability in supporting salmon farming operations to operate as efficiently and sustainably as possible,” he added.
When complete, the vessel will create an additional six employment opportunities within Inverlussa Marine Services, which it is hoped will serve as a boost to coastal communities.
“Inverlussa’s latest vessel will bring more high-quality jobs to Scotland while harnessing green technologies to support our net zero ambitions. It is crucial that we continue to embrace innovation in aquaculture practices so that the sector can become resilient to the pressing challenges posed by climate change,” commented Kate Forbes, Deputy First Minister for Scotland.
