In January Hafbor ehf, an Icelandic based company, installed the mooring system for a new mussel farm in Narragansett Bay, RI owned by Adam Silkes. Hafbor's innovative technology allows for 4 meter long screw anchors to be installed in 100 meters of water without divers. This was the first installation in the US using this new technology developed for use in the unforgiving arctic waters of Iceland for aquaculture equipment, floating pontoons, moorings and pipelines. The superior holding power of screw anchors has long been established, but their use has been limited to shallow water depths reachable by divers for installation. „ The Hafbor Drill (Icelandic for Ocean Drill) enables the use of screw anchors in depths that have been out of reach until now" says Ingvar Erlingsson Hafbor´s General Manager.
The Hafbor drill machine is lightweight and portable, easy to use on most kinds of service boats and can install anchors at depths too dangerous for divers. The drill is hydraulic driven and remotely controlled. It uses underwater cameras to guide the installation process and all of the controls are in one easy to connect control box that is stationed either on deck or in the wheelhouse of the installation boat. The holding power of the anchors can be estimated by the force needed to drive the anchors into the seabed from a digital readout in the control box.
The Fishing Vessel "Virginia Marise" from Point Judith RI Captained by Rodman Sykes was used for the installation in Narragansett Bay, RI.
The Hafbor Drill and anchors are warehoused at American Mussel Harvesters Inc. In North Kingstown, RI. Contact Bill Silkes at 401 829 0121 or bill@americanmussel.com for more information.