Cooke Introduces New Hybrid Feed Barge in a Trio of Firsts

A hybrid feed barge that significantly reduces carbon emissions has been introduced at one of Scotland's latest organic salmon farms. The barge was launched at the Mill Bay organic site of Cooke Aquaculture Scotland in Stronsay, Orkney by Gael Force Group, an aquaculture supply firm based in Inverness. They collaborated with Fjord Maritime, a Norwegian company known for its sustainability initiatives, who created the hybrid technology. The system operates with an auxiliary diesel generator that only functions to recharge the barge's batteries, which then power the barge and the electrical needs of the seawater site. In 2019, Cooke began a review of barge power as part of their ISO 14001 environmental management goals to investigate alternative power sources for the company's seawater sites in Orkney and Shetland. The discovered hybrid battery solution automates power supply and maximises the use of generators, batteries, electrical drives, and control systems. Modelling indicates that this will decrease generator run time by up to 90 per cent and fuel consumption by up to 60 per cent. This single barge is projected to achieve carbon savings of approximately 146 tons of CO2 every year, equivalent to taking 55 cars off the roads annually. This is the first hybrid barge that Cooke has launched in the UK. For Fjord Maritime, this is the first time their hybrid technology has been used outside of Norway. For Gael Force, this is their first fully hybrid feed barge delivered in the UK. Fjord Maritime's hybrid technology has been used on over 100 barges in Norway in recent years, proving it to be a reliable technology that is now being introduced to Scotland for the first time. Stewart Rendall, North Isles Manager at Cooke Aquaculture Scotland, expressed the company's commitment to sustainability and their confidence in the performance of the new hybrid barge. He also mentioned that they are considering deploying this technology on other barges across their fleet in Orkney and Shetland to further reduce their carbon footprint. Øyvind Bakke, Chief Commercial Officer at Fjord Maritime, highlighted the benefits of the Fjord Hybrid® solution in managing power supplies for fish farms, reducing generator running time, service and maintenance costs, and noise levels. He also mentioned the remote operation of the solution through Fjord Maritime’s Fjord Control system. Jamie Young, Sales Director at Gael Force, emphasised the importance of sustainability to Cooke Aquaculture Scotland and expressed his delight at their confidence in Gael Force as a barge builder in Scotland. He believes this will initiate a program of retrofitting these hybrid systems to existing barges in Scotland and will become the standard in fitting out new barge builds in steel and concrete.