Southampton Marine Services (SMS) has won a contract to build a workboat for a tuna farm operator in Malta

The company saw off tough European competition for the major export win.

SMS builds workboats, under the Bulldog brand, for the marine civils, aquaculture, fisheries and ports and harbours sectors.

The vessel is expected to be delivered to the owner Fish and Fish Ltd in mid-summer 2019.

Her main purpose will be tuna harvesting and aquaculture/fish farm logistical and maintenance support.

John Buck, SMS business development manager, said: “This is a big win for us, given both the scale of the opportunity and the obvious competition from Europe.

“We’ve listened to the client, customised our offering, and via a competitive process we’ve won the build.

“This project is particularly exciting given the size of the market in Malta and the environmental innovation that we’ve built into the design with regards to the containment and management of fish oil.”

He added: “It is good news for SMS, good news for workboat building in Southampton, and good news for UK plc.”

The vessel, ordered last week, has is 24m in length overall, has an 8.5m beam, and a 3m draft.

The order was secured following an initial meeting at the Seawork exhibition in Southampton earlier this year.