Huon Aquaculture to use 116m Ronja Storm to carry live fish

The recently launched 116m-long Ronja Storm will arrive in Tasmanian waters this year.

The Ronja Storm undergoing sea trials after being launched in Turkey last week.

A SHIP touted as the world’s largest carrier of live fish is destined for Tasmanian waters.

The newly built 116m Ronja Storm, which has just been launched in Turkey, will serve Huon Aquaculture under a 10-year contract.

The massive vessel, to be used as a wellboat, will first head to Norway to be fitted out and then come to Australia later in the year.

Huon Aquaculture chief executive officer Peter Bender said the boat was more than double the size of the world’s previous biggest wellboat.

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“The Ronja Storm is our biggest vessel yet and it will be an asset that will ensure Huon’s long-term success,” Mr Bender said.

Wellboats are used in the aquaculture industry for bathing fish in freshwater and transporting them to harvest.

The new 23m-wide boat will have the capacity to bathe an entire 240m fish pen, and have an on-board desalination system that can produce 700 tonnes of freshwater an hour.

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“The amount of technology that is going into the vessel is truly astounding. It really is the cutting edge of salmon farming,” Mr Bender said.

The vessel will be leased to Huon from Solvtrans, a Norwegian-based company that specialises in building wellboats.

Once the Ronja Storm arrives in November, Huon’s current wellboat, the Ronja Huon, will be used as a harvest vessel and back-up wellboat.

“Dedicating the Ronja Huon to harvest translates to better biosecurity outcomes,” Mr Bender said.