A new aquaculture workboat was recently delivered to New Zealand King Salmon (NZKS).
Designed by Australian naval architecture firm Southern Ocean Solutions (SOS), Whekenui will be used in feeding, mort recovery, mooring support, feed barge support, towing, and general works tasks around NZKS’ inshore and offshore leases.
SOS said the workboat was designed to be flexible and efficient and to be able to perform a multitude of tasks safely and effectively. The hull form was specifically designed to allow higher steaming speeds in rougher weather, while minimising fuel consumption and emissions.
The vessel length is less than 24 metres and the main engines are below 500 hp (370 kW), which SOS said allows for more flexible manning, as well as minimising operational costs.
To assist with manouevring, the vessel is fitted with a 100kW Schottel bow thruster.
Whekenui was built to Maritime New Zeland survey requirement.
The operational design and construction supervision was managed by SOS. This involved a period of consultation with the owners to ensure the vessel was fully customised for the client’s need.
