‘Big Dipper’ moves closer to market in offshore collaboration

Offshore engineering specialist Saipem has announced a strategic collaboration with submersible salmon farm pioneer Aqualoop aimed at transforming the future of salmon farming.

Aqualoop’s ‘Big Dipper’ farm system, developed with capacity for up to 20,000 tonnes of Atlantic salmon a year, has been tested at Norwegian research organisation SINTEF and received approval and certification from classification society DNV in 2023.

Under the agreement, Saipem will be responsible for the construction of offshore cages, submergible down to a depth of 20m or more below the sea surface and about 160m in diameter.

Spatial limitations

The oil-rig style platform is designed to lower fish below the sea surface in stormy weather and overcome the environmental and spatial limitations of traditional near-shore farming systems, said the company in a press release.

Through its Norwegian company Moss Maritime, already embedded in the region’s marine engineering landscape, Saipem has been involved in the engineering of the Big Dipper at the trial stage.

The technology is now fully developed and this new phase of collaboration is meant to tailor the solution to industrialisation.

The technological complexity of open-sea farming requires advanced skills that are part of Saipem's engineering know-how, the company said, and the partnership with Aqualoop “marks a significant step towards a more sustainable future for the entire fish industry, leveraging cutting-edge technologies to address current farming challenges”.

Aqualoop’s Norwegian founders envisage applications outside of Norway and with other species beside salmon, though that is their initial focus.