SalMar Aker Ocean offshore farm receives live fish-transfer system upgrade from Techano Oceanlift

Techano Oceanlift – a recently acquired subsidiary of Kristiansand, Norway-based Nekkar – has successfully completed the installation of a new live fish-transfer systems on SalMar Aker Ocean’s Offshore Farm 1.

Nekkar offers equipment solutions for multiple industiries, including wind energy, shipyards, and aquaculture. The company acquired Techano Oceanlift – then named Techano Group – in March 2023.  

SalMar and Aker established SalMar Aker Ocean in 2021 via a strategic partnership to create a global offshore aquaculture company. Ocean Farm 1, which SalMar dubbed the world’s first offshore aquaculture facility, completed its first harvest in September 2018. 

The FTS500 transfer system ensures the safe transfer of live fish between aquaculture installations and live fish carriers, “even in harsh offshore environments” like that Ocean Farm 1 can face, Techano Oceanlift said in a release. Techano Overlift delivered two sets of the new system to SalMar Aker Ocean and installed them during the winter in Aker Solutions’ shipyard in Verdal, Norway, where the farm underwent upgrades.  

“We have received feedback from SalMar Aker Ocean that the first fish transfer operations went smoothly, keeping stress levels for the fish to a minimum,” Techano Oceanlift Business Development and Sales Director Øystein Bondevik said. “They challenged us to design a system that would secure optimal fish welfare, so we are delighted that the first operations showed good results.”

All engineering and manufacturing for the new facility took place in Norway, Techano Oceanlift said.

“Techano Oceanlift has a strong position within load handling and lifting equipment onboard fish farms operating in exposed and offshore conditions,” Nekkar CEO Ole Falk Hansen said. “This is a perfect fit for Nekkar’s strategy to develop new products that can unlock new growth opportunities for the aquaculture industry.”

Photo courtesy of Techano Oceanlift