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Loch Duart believe in Scottish boats for Scottish waters


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#1 Barry McCrindle

Barry McCrindle

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Posted 28 November 2011 - 07:00 PM

From www.fishnewseu.com

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LOCH Duart, the Sutherland and Uist based salmon farming company, will launch their new workboat fabricated by Noble and Sons boatyard in Girvan, south-west Scotland tomorrow.

But this is much more than ‘just another order’ for Loch Duart as the company says it reaffirms their ties with a key supplier and continues a great tradition of Scottish boat building.

Nick Joy, MD of Loch Duart explains: “This boat is a huge investment for Loch Duart and certainly the largest fleet-related project we have ever undertaken. It is only our complete faith in Nobles that has enabled us to attempt it and the support of Highlands and Islands Enterprise has been crucial to this contract.

“But why do it at all? After all, we already have a large fleet of Noble-built boats – but we need one more because the Minch can be a pretty inhospitable place to operate and the boats in our current fleet are too small to work this stretch of coast. So our requirement was for a boat built to suit a particular stretch of water, which is notably rough.

“Our farming operations on South Uist in the Outer Hebrides currently depend on harvesting the fish to meet the ferry schedule – a schedule which is designed, quite reasonably, to meet the needs of the residents and people wishing to visit these wonderful islands. The timing requires our harvests to start extremely early in the morning and requires our staff to work under extreme time pressure. Neither of these are conducive to producing a high quality result and reliable delivery to our customers.

“Loch Duart is supporting Scottish jobs for Scottish people in fragile Scottish communities. This matters most because no-one else is doing it except where the cost is lowest. This is a crucial issue for Scotland's people, environment and business.”

The new boat (job number 135) is 26 metres long with a minimum payload of 60 tonnes. The specification includes twin screws, five engines, a bow transfer and, importantly in the area of operations, centrally-heated crew accommodation.

Alexander Noble & Sons, founded in 1946 by Alexander, the son of North East fisherfolk, is a 4th generation family business. The company has been building boats in Girvan since it was founded and employs 37 people – three office-based, nine apprentices and 25 time-served boat builders.

Loch Duart Ltd started in 1999 and its head office is Badcall Salmon House, Scourie. Loch Duart Ltd employs over 100 people with farming and salmon smoking operations in Sutherland and the Hebrides. The company farms sites first farmed in 1975 when the industry


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