Seaweed Cultivation Vessel 2020

Introduction

There were 27 million tonnes of macroalgae cultivated globally in 2014, and the industry will grow by 7.7% annually (FAO, 2014). Asian markets are those that have historically largely exploited seaweed as a resource. Seaweed cultivation and exploitation are now growing in Norway and Europe, and there will therefore be a need for dedicated seaweed cultivation vessels to increase production volumes and industrialize the industry.

Goals

The main target of the project is to develop a future-oriented concept for seaweed cultivation vessels, including vessel design, handling technology and equipment. Including solutions for storage and quality conservation of seaweed that enable industrial and high-capacity seaweed cultivation in a safe, efficient and quality-conserving manner.

Aims

1. Define application areas for seaweed cultivation vessels, including on-site operations, as well as multi-role solutions, to ensure smooth cash flow and avoid downtime. 
2. Develop vessel design that is specialized, but with flexibility for handling different types of seaweed cultivation plants.
3. Develop as much automated and mechanized handling solutions as possible for efficient and quality-preserving operations, which also reduce risk factors related to personnel and equipment.
4. Develop storage solutions that enable the seaweed cultivation vessel to be able to supply seaweed products with unique quality, adapted for the application area for which they are to be used.
5. Compile and evaluate various total concepts for seaweed cultivation vessels.

Partners

• Møre Maritime AS
• MacGregor Norway AS
• Mustad Autoline AS
• Abyss Aqua AS
• Polyform AS
• Orkel AS
• Stranda Prolog AS
• SINTEF Ocean
• NTNU

Budget:

A total of NOK 17.6 million, of which NOK 8.7 million was financed by the Norwegian Research Council.