Altantic Salmon producer, Greig Seafood Shetland Ltd has placed an order for a new custom-built Meercat DeckMax MRV aquaculture workboat for its Scottish fisheries operations.

The 15-metre vessel is a steel monohull, which is the first of Meercat’s newest range of multirole vessels, the Meercat DeckMax MRV, which features a clever deck layout configuration, providing maximised space for cargo and greater accessibility throughout the deck.

Grieg Seafood Shetland Ltd (GSFSH) operates hatcheries, grow-out and processing sites in Shetland and the Isle of Skye. GSFSH is a subsidiary of Grieg Seafood ASA, being one of the world’s leading fish farming companies, specialising in Atlantic salmon, with annual production at around 100,000 tonnes from its Norwegian, Canadian and Shetland Isles’ sites.

The new vessel will be operating in the Skye, handling, and supporting aquaculture management and production, as well as general harbour support duties.

Grant Cumming, Greig Seafood Shetland’s Managing Director, comments, “We chose Meercat Boats as they are highly regarded, and we believe they offered the best solution for our specific need in Skye. The new Meercat will be highly suitable to the task, as she is being customised to precisely match our specific requirements.  I have been very impressed with Meercat’s ability to tailor their vessel to meet our needs.”

John Buck, of Southampton-based Meercat Boats stated, “Meercat Boats are regularly seen operating in salmon farming, due to their versatility and robustness, therefore we are delighted that Greig Seafood has selected the Meercat DeckMax for their next vessel, as it is ideal for the role.”

The Meercat DeckMax MRV (multirole vessel) design has a raised wheelhouse, provides excellent visibility, and allows for greater use of the deck space. The DeckMax is 15.75m in length, with a 6.7m beam, and boasts a shallow draft of just 1.3m whilst capable of loads up to 27-tonnes. She also features a 5-tonne bollard pull. The Meercat will be powered by Doosan 285hp, supported by a BETA 21kVA generator and an EFFER 275-6S crane, and will be coded to MCA Category 3 so that she can operate up to 20 miles offshore.

Amongst other builds and refits, in the past year Meercat has delivered Guernsey Harbours’ new 15-metre multirole workboat, Sarnia, valued in the region of £1million. BAE’s Meercat multirole Dive Support workboat, the BAE Tedworth returned for her five-year survey and underwent a refit to further enhance her specification and return her to near-new condition once more. Marine civil engineering specialist Topbond purchased the Meercat MRV-22 metre landing craft, Toplander, which joined its charter fleet of Meercat Boats.

Since its inception in 2007, Meercat Boats has delivered multirole steel workboats undertaking port and harbour servicing, civil engineering, aquaculture support, rescue and the renewables markets; operating in the UK, Middle East, Europe, Africa, Saudi Arabia and Australia, in addition to other locations.  Clients include BAE Systems, Williams Shipping, MOWI (was Marine Harvest), Topbond, Scottish Salmon Company, Dawnfresh, Zamil Offshore, Port of Plymouth and Associated British Ports.

For more information contact John Buck at Meercat Boats.