Ocean Sovereign has partnered with DNV to gain French registration for the deployment of an innovative fish farming vessel — the Ocean Ark, a patented advanced self-cleaning trimaran superstructure.
The vessel was developed by Ocean Sovereign according to Marpol, Solas and IMO regulations, and designed with low density to operate in high offshore waters, drifting with the natural current and natural fish shoals.
It as also built to provide sufficient safety for the environment, fish and crew. The mobile nature of Ocean Ark will help to ensure the health and welfare of the fish and make sure that the fish are kept in their natural habitat.
DNV will support Ocean Sovereign with business-critical challenges and innovations, designed to prevent fish escape and reduce risk of technical failure in operation by delivering:
- Classification of the floating structure/vessel and marine systems
- Certification of mooring/dynamic positioning system
- Certification of aquaculture nets and systems
- Assessing operation and integrity controls during the design lifetime
To achieve this, DNV will work with Ocean Sovereign by setting up a regulatory framework to fulfil local requirements in alignment with rules and standards of the French authorities.
Aquaculture is reportedly the fastest growing food producing sector able to meet the nutritional needs of a growing world population. Deploying the innovative Ocean Ark vessel away from marine heatwaves, algae blooms, and storms – aquaculture’s three Achilles’ heels – aims to increase fish welfare, produce higher quality protein, and increase world fish production without increasing pressures on fish stocks and coastal habitats.
Ocean Sovereign General Manager Zeyd Fassi Fehri explained; “Offshore fish production is based on a combination of two well-known concepts, fish farming and offshore technology, and therefore a cross-industry approach and know-how is needed.
“At Ocean Sovereign, we are happy to join forces with DNV and benefit from their knowledge gained through decades of experience in these two fields that will allow us to safely deploy the vessels. We believe that DNV’s extensive experience in offshore and fish farming will help us to play a key role in the deployment of our vessels under French Registration.”
In addition to its high-quality standards and being Europe’s largest market for salmon, France also has one of the world’s largest maritime exclusive economic zones across the oceans.
“As well as sustainability and fish welfare, the inclusion of local communities is embedded into every Ocean Sovereign project. The deployment of the Ocean Ark offers many synergies and growth opportunities for the existing local aquaculture and fishing sector,” added Zeyd Fassi Fehri. “To seize these opportunities, agreements have been reached with well-established French aquaculture and fishing stakeholders and will be released shortly.”
