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© Gael Force Group
Gael Force Group, an aquaculture equipment and technology supplier, has announced that it has signed an exclusive agreement to partner with Dutch shipyard Nauplius Workboats for the building of its range of SeaFeed steel feed barges.
Gael Force Group hopes partnering with Nauplius will enable them to strengthen and increase their barge building capacity while offering customers favourable delivery times and a competitive package on steel barges.
The Scottish aquaculture supply partner has experienced increased demand for barges this year and aims to continue developing and delivering a strong programme of new build and refurbished concrete barges from its main engineering yard in Inverness.
Planned operations
As part of the agreement, the structural build of the steel barge hulls, surface treatments and painting will take place at Groningen, Netherlands, before being towed across to Inverness for mechanical and electrical full fit-out and installation of the SeaFeed system by Gael Force.
The barge range covers feeding capacities up to 800 tonnes with the ability to flexibly accommodate options for hybridised power and secondary machinery and processes.
Stewart Graham, Gael Force Group founder and managing director stated in a press release: “Along with our own team’s experience in design and build, Nauplius’ levels of technical knowledge and overall experience in the sector offers us complete confidence that this partnership will bolster our robust and reliable range of feeding barges for fish farming.”
They also noted that they are currently in the process of building a pre-sold 400 tonne SeaFeed barge, with a list of interested customers on future builds.
Technical director and naval architect of Nauplius, Gerrit Knol added: “We are delighted to be partnering with Gael Force on this long-term collaboration in support of the aquaculture sector in Scotland, and overseas. Our ship design and build quality is already widely appreciated and we are pleased to bring our expertise into this partnership.”
