Napier has over 100 employees and operates five vessels as well as an administrative office in Langevåg, Bømlo. The company is growing and has, in recent years, taken delivery of several newbuilds – with more currently on order. Our vessels operate along the entire Norwegian coast, from Agder in the south to Bodø in the north.
Our vessels are named after cities or regions in New Zealand. This tradition stems from the founder of Napier, Bernt Arne Eidesvik, who had a special connection to this legendary country and chose to name our first vessel, Tauranga, after one of its cities. We have continued this naming tradition for all subsequent vessels.
Our DNA
We will continue to create value for our customers and contribute to making salmon and trout products that lead the way in terms of animal welfare and environmental responsibility.
Napier serves fish farmers who require sustainable and profitable transport of farmed fish — with a strong focus on fish welfare — from sea cages to processing facilities. Through knowledge and experience, we have developed innovative and pioneering solutions, built a modern fleet based on these principles, and established an organization capable of operating it efficiently.
Our goal is to take the lead in developing the concept of “stun and bleed” at the edge of the cage. We never rest in our pursuit of improvements that enhance fish welfare, biosecurity, and value creation — to the benefit of our customers.
Vision
Our vision is ambitious and inspires us in our daily work: To provide the world with sustainable transport — on the fish’s own terms.
Continuous improvement for improved sustainability
Napier was established in 1995. The company is headquartered on Bømlo and operates the harvest vessels Tauranga, Taupo, Taupiri, and Taumar. It all began when Tauranga was built as a wellboat in 2001 — the first vessel to feature movable bulkheads. In collaboration with Mowi, Tauranga was extended and converted in 2008, becoming Europe’s first harvest vessel for salmon. Since 2009, the vessel has operated for Mowi, and has delivered more salmon and trout than any other harvest vessel in the world. This has provided us with extensive knowledge and experience regarding the unique conditions involved in bleeding fish directly at the cage edge. All this experience feedback is led back to our R&D department when designing our new vessels.
In 2017, we entered into a close partnership with Fitjar Mek. Verksted (FMV) and Heimli Design. The collaboration between shipowner, shipyard, and design company ensured that each newbuild benefited from the combined expertise of all parties. Together, we developed harvest vessels of various sizes to meet different operational needs.
During 2019, both Taupo and Taupiri were delivered as newbuilds from FMV. These vessels now operate on long-term contracts with Mowi. In 2022, we were awarded two new long-term contracts for the construction of the world’s largest vessels within this segment, and in 2025 the first of these — Tauroa — was delivered under the Salt Ship Design concept.
The company has undergone significant growth, expanding from 16 employees in 2018 to around 100 in 2025.
The harvest vessel concept has been considerably optimized in recent years, allowing us to carry forward the experience gained from Tauranga to our newer vessels.
Developments:
We have developed our own CIP (Clean-In-Place) washing system, which reduces cleaning time by 75% without compromising the result. Cleaning is a key fundament of our concept regulated by strict requirements under the food authorities.
We have developed a method that continuously removes bacteria during recirculation of RSW (Refrigerated Sea Water).
We have developed a gentle fish agitation method in the tanks, ensuring faster and more even cooling.
We have automated key processes to eliminate human error.
We have contributed to automating the unloading process on shore, removing the need for personnel to be present up to the gutting line.
We are committed to continuous improvement. In addition to what we achieve together with our partners, we continuously challenge our subcontractors to deliver even better results. Our strong focus on development and quality improvement drives us forward — ensuring that we remain at the forefront of harvest vessel and stund and bleed technology for years to come.
