Mull marine hails green first

A marine fi rm on Mull has announced plans to unveil the ‘most sustainable vessel in Scottish aquaculture’ as the sector seeks to become greener and reduce its carbon footprint before the year 2045.

Later this summer, Inverlussa Marine Services (IMS) will take delivery of a fully-hybrid catamaran from

Norwegian-based Moen Marin, the world’s largest supplier of working boats to the sector.

In what has been hailed as a ‘major milestone’ for Scotland, the new vessel will help reduce reliance on diesel and cut Co2 emissions to help the environment.

It will be contracted out to salmon farm companies for mooring/grid inspection and installation, treatment support, net changing and heavy lifting and general site support.

The 15-metre NabCat 1510 DD Hybrid, can operate with a crew of up to three and has been billed as the fi rst hybrid workboat in the Scottish sector.

Ben Wilson, managing director of the Craignurebased IMS, said: ‘This battery hybrid propulsion system will reduce the vessel’s diesel consumption by approx 90,000 litres per year compared to a fully diesel version.

‘This is a reduction of 234 tonnes equivalent of Co2 annually which is the same as removing 51 passenger vehicles from the road each year.’

‘Our ambition is to always stay ahead and offer our customers the best available technology.’

Being a hybrid, it can run on either diesel-electric or battery-electric powered by a 244kWh battery pack, which can be charged by shore power or on-board generator.

That means the vessel will be able to perform up to six hours of general sitework before the generator has to start, he said.

The vessel is also powered solely by batteries overnight to reduce noise pollution, fuel usage and make the vessel more comfortable for the crew to rest.

With Inverlussa being a leading operator of service vessels in Scotland, demand has been growing among aquaculture companies and their clients to demonstrate sustainability at sea.

Mr Wilson added: ‘Everybody wants to be greener and more effi cient. I expect this will become more common in the future. For us, it is about being able to offer our customers the widest possible range of the latest and greatest technology.’

The vessel is due to be handed over to Inverlussa in Norway in August.

Graham Smith, for Moen Marin’s British division, said Inverlussa Marine Services was leading the way.

‘It is great to see that Scottish aquaculture gets its fi rst hybrid electric vessel and I believe and hope that this is just the beginning,’ he said.

The Scottish Salmon Sustainability Charter published in November by the Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation states that the aquaculture sector can become a key contributor to Scotland’s target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2045. The charter contains fi ve key pledges and 41 different actions, including the industry transitioning to greener energies, working towards zero waste, and achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions in its operations before 2045.