Ocean Ark, which is based around a mobile trimaran structure, is designed to produce fish while avoiding marine heatwaves, algae blooms and storms.
DNV, the independent assurance and risk management provider, says that it will support Ocean Sovereign with business-critical challenges and innovations, designed to prevent fish escape and reduce risk of technical failure in operation by delivering: classification of the floating structure/vessel and marine systems; certification of mooring/dynamic positioning systems; certification of aquaculture nets and systems; and assessing operation and integrity controls during the design lifetime.
To achieve this, DNV will work with Ocean Sovereign by setting up a regulatory framework to fulfil local requirements in alignment with rules and standards of the French authorities.
“Offshore fish production is based on a combination of two well-known concepts, fish farming and offshore technology, and therefore a cross-industry approach and know-how is needed,” explained Ocean Sovereign general manager, Zeyd Fassi Fehri, in a press release. “At Ocean Sovereign, we are happy to join forces with DNV and benefit from their knowledge gained through decades of experience in these two fields that will allow us to safely deploy the vessels. We believe that DNV’s extensive experience in offshore and fish farming will help us to play a key role in the deployment of our vessels under French registration.”
In addition to its high-quality standards and being Europe’s largest market for salmon, France also has one of the world’s largest maritime exclusive economic zones across the oceans.
“As well as sustainability and fish welfare, the inclusion of local communities is embedded into every Ocean Sovereign project. The deployment of the Ocean Ark offers many synergies and growth opportunities for the existing local aquaculture and fishing sector,” confirmed Zeyd Fassi Fehri. “To seize these opportunities, agreements have been reached with well-established French aquaculture and fishing stakeholders and will be released shortly.”
“DNV is proud to safeguard innovative technology to deliver sustainable seafood products to consumers,” said Thomas Vogth-Eriksen, global aquaculture director at DNV. “As a global leader in advancing the safety, efficiency, and sustainability of a range of ocean-based industries, we are particularly pleased to support knowledge-driven solutions that contribute to the sustainable growth of the aquaculture sector.”
