– The modern Nachipa vessel allows the treatment of fish caligus using fewer chemical products. In addition, it is fuel efficient, so it generates fewer emissions. 

Ronia Polaris is the name of the new wellboat that arrived this week at Puerto Montt, at the Oxxean dock. The modern ship, from Nachipa Wellboats, will carry out treatments against Caligus in Blumar cultivation centers, with a capacity of 3,200 m3 and allowing close to 450 tons of maximum capacity. 

“We are very happy. It is a significant milestone for Blumar to have a boat with these characteristics and high technology. Treating fish mostly with fresh water and avoiding the use of chemicals is the path that the industry has to take step by step,” indicated the company’s Farming Manager, Pedro Pablo Laporte.

Representatives of the Chilean Navy, Sernapesca and the ship’s crew also participated in the milestone. The maritime governor of Puerto Montt, captain Dinson Baack Vásquez, stated that “it is a tremendous pride to receive and get to know this ship. The technological leap qualitative and quantitative comes to motivate all shipping companies to grow, as others have done before.”

The multipurpose wellboat, considered “last generation,” is capable of transporting live crops, moving smolt, and performing antiparasitic baths with the most advanced technology available on the market, both for its versatility and its impact on the environment, and additionally generates fewer CO2 emissions through an engine that is more efficient in the use of fuel. In addition to the above, the boat has a reverse osmosis plant on board that can generate up to 6,000 m3 per day and is also enabled to carry out hydrogen peroxide treatments.

The president of the company, Rodrigo Sarquis, stated that “sea lice, as is known, has been a tremendous challenge for the companies. Therefore, we believe that abandoning traditional treatments and including new freshwater-based technologies, like the one on this boat, will help us improve the health of the fish.

The wellboat is an important advance in the operation of the salmon farming company. According to  this, Blumar’s Agua Mar production manager, Gabriel Jerez, mentioned that “it is a giant step compared to the traditional operations we had until now. Therefore, the challenge is important and a very big advance in terms of the sustainability of our activity, with the opportunity to make much more efficient treatments.”