Damen Shipyards Group has recently completed a conversion project for Norwegian company Eidsvaag.
Following a tender procedure, Damen Shiprepair Amsterdam (DSAm) converted a former platform supply vessel (PSV) into a fish feed carrier, named Eidsvaag Opal, in a project involving a series of major works.
Damen was required to extend the vessel by 5ms. This involved the yard cutting the hull in two and inserting in new steel sections.
Damen was also required to widen the beam of the vessel – using a series of side boxes – to give additional stability and cargo capacity.
Additionally the yard integrated 35 new silos and a big bag hold, enabling Eidsvaag Opal to transport up to 2,800 tonnes of fish feed.
Damen also outfitted the vessel with five new cranes and a discharge system of conveyors, buckets, elevators and a discharge arm.
The project also required considerable electrical work, carried out by FMJ Marine Automation.
The supplier removed some 480 cables – approximately 15 kilometres – from the old cargo systems alone. In total, the company pulled 51 kilometres of cable and connected 1,237 cables on the project.
The project required considerable steel work, totalling 875 tonnes. In addition to the steel work required, Eidsvaag Opal conversion was given an additional layer of complexity with the arrival of the coronavirus epidemic.
This required the yard to cease work on the project for one week, in order to implement robust safety measure. Thanks to this, the project was able to continue with minimum danger to health.
Despite the need to socially distance during work on the project, work continued at a good pace – taking in total 346 days.
In week 43 Eidsvaag Opal underwent her first loading in order to test the new system. The test involved the vessel carrying 180 tonnes of feed in the silo and 55 tonnes in big bags.
Loading went well, requiring only small adjustments to the loading equipment in the big bag room. The feed was unloaded at a fish farm close to Tromsø, at which point the capacity and quality was approved by the product owner. In week 44, a bigger load was transported for the second test – some 700 tonnes.
The vessel will operate in the Fjordfrende collaboration. This collaboration will be operated by Eidsvaag for Skretting and Cargill.
