BioMar is poised to boost Tasmanian exports with a new $20 million vessel set to operate a direct shipping route between Tasmania and New Zealand. This new state-of-the-art 86-meter vessel, ECOline, will enable BioMar to directly deliver up to 3,000 tonnes of fish feed on each voyage, directly into New Zealand, and other key markets.
Premier Jeremy Rockliff said in a press release the investment would see a significant boost to BioMar’s operations and Tasmania’s trade bottom line. “With this new vessel, BioMar will be able to take Tasmania’s trade with New Zealand to the next level,” Premier Rockliff said. “BioMar has demonstrated the huge demand in this market, recently reaching a significant milestone of 30,000 tonnes of premium fish feed having been shipped from Wesley Vale in the state’s north into New Zealand.”
BioMar secured a direct Trans-Tasman shipping service with support from the Tasmanian government in September 2022 after participating in a Tasmanian government-led Trade and Investment Mission to New Zealand in August of that year.
“This new vessel will enable BioMar to open up this route for a regular service, significantly increasing the exporting capacity of fish feed to the New Zealand market,” Rockliff said. “With this new vessel set to service the Trans-Tasman shipping route, it will be easier than ever for BioMar to access this key export market without having to go via the Port of Melbourne. This new vessel will reduce shipping times and costs for BioMar and increase trade with our New Zealand neighbors.”
BioMar managing director, David Whyte, said BioMar was a Tasmanian success story. “Since we started in Tasmania in 2020, we’ve grown to employ more than 70 locals and with the new ship, we’ve now invested more than $100 million here,” Whyte said. “We are both contributing and leveraging off Tasmania’s proud aquaculture industry, and this latest investment is a vote of confidence in aquaculture’s strong and sustainable future. We’re so proud to have hit the 30,000 tonne New Zealand export milestone too.”
