April 2022: Salmones Camanchaca has inaugurated a new feeding pontoon

It has a 300 square meter living area, state-of-the-art technology and uses energy-efficient solutions. It will be located at the Williams 2 site, where it will provide a floating feeding platform for growing-out fish with a maximum feed capacity of 400 tons and a living area for up to 20 employees.

Salmones Camanchaca has inaugurated the most technically advanced and innovative pontoon within its fleet. It will be sent to the Williams 2 farming site at Cisnes, Aysén Region, where it will provide a floating platform for centralized feeding of growing-out fish with a maximum capacity of 400 tons of feed and a living area for up to 20 employees.

This pontoon was built under the name “Camanchaca XXX” with a 300 square meter living area. It was entirely built in Puerto Montt in less than 9 months, through a joint venture with the Sitecna shipyard.

The pontoon has a centralized online system that monitors and records service and safety variables, such as fuel, grey water and drinking water, as well as primary and secondary process variables such as energy consumption, air pressure, process and environmental temperatures, and utilities services. Users can monitor real-time information on the status of the pontoon and its range of capacities. It has an automated fire-fighting and rapid emergency detection systems, in order to ensure everyone’s safety at all times.

The pontoon also has a backup and sectored energy saving system using lithium batteries, which can backup essential equipment such as communication, data processing and entertainment, provided there are no intense energy requirements from the pontoon’s main systems.

“We are very pleased to commission this new pontoon, which is the most technically advanced in the company and meets the highest industry standards. It has a huge feed storage capacity, state-of-the-art technology and uses energy efficiency solutions, which will undoubtedly support Salmones Camanchaca’s production plans in the future,” said Pablo Albistur, Farming Manager.

The living area on the “Camanchaca XXX” will contain various working areas and a dining room, kitchen, cold storage for vegetables and perishable foods, a fully equipped gym, cabins, bathrooms, living rooms and a laundry. All these facilities will be equipped with heating and air conditioning, to ensure that employees living and working there are comfortable and enjoy a good quality of life.

Pablo Albistur also mentioned that “this pontoon features in the asset renewal program that ensures sustainability and compliance with the production plan. However, we are thinking about preparing ourselves, or acquiring assets that meet the highest standards, to farm demanding sites.” He added that “we understand that these sites are not only very exposed, but also very remote, where logistics may be problematic and shifts may be different. Eventually, these sites may house people, because they cannot commute on a daily basis.”

The new pontoon is designed to reduce its impact on the environment, in line with the focus on sustainability that characterizes Salmones Camanchaca’s approach to its business. It was built without using vehicle tires as side fenders, which were replaced by devices designed as hull fenders that cannot be detached from the seabed. It is devoid of equipment on its deck and sides that could fall into the sea, and its energy efficiency solutions will reduce fuel consumption, thus reducing carbon emissions. Its ability to accommodate people and various production processes, without installing additional floating platforms, also makes it an environmentally non-invasive structure.

Source: https://www.aqua.cl/2022/04/14/video-conozca-el-nuevo-ponton-alimentador-de-salmones-camanchaca/#