The case in summary: • The Norwegian Road Administration has banned 13 out of 16 wagon trains that transported fish from Cermaq in Steigen in Nordland due to the runoff of blood water.• The runoff can create dangerous traffic situations by forming a sheet of ice on the road.• The problem is increasing, and with several hundred trailers of fish driving from Northern Norway to Oslo every day, two to three thousand liters of blood water can flow from a trailer.• The problem arises when the fish or the trailer is not sufficiently cooled before transport.• The Norwegian Road Administration is in dialogue with the authorities to tighten the reaction against those responsible for the fish transport.• Cermaq recognizes that they have a responsibility to prevent runoff and is working to establish a common standard to be able to collect and empty the meltwater. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. On Wednesday and Thursday this week, inspectors from the National Roads Administration lined up outside Cermaq’s salmon slaughterhouse in Steigen in Nordland. The background for the inspection was to check trailers for runoff of blood water from the fish. The first inspection to ban the use of 13 out of 16 wagon trains. – The blood water can create traffic-dangerous situations as the runoff can form a sheet of ice on the road at this time of year, says the head of outdoor inspection of heavy vehicles in the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, Frode Johansen. The drivers were told to stop the runoff before they were allowed to drive on from the salmon slaughterhouse. Growing problem This autumn, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration carried out a number of checks both in Nordland, Trøndelag and Møre og Romsdal with the same result. Some examples: In July, 6 out of 7 inspected trailers were banned from use in Lurøy in Nordland. In August, 12 out of 16 salmon trailers were stopped in Herøy in Nordland. In September, 13 salmon trailers were stopped in Stokkvågen in Nordland. In the same month, 8 out of 16 trailers were banned from use in Snåsa in Trøndelag. Johansen estimates that several hundred trailers with fish drive from Northern Norway to Oslo every day, and that on such a trip two to three thousand liters can flow from a trailer. – In the summer, it is an even bigger problem, especially for cyclists and motorcyclists. We have seen accidents, and we get tips from dispatchers on ferries who tell us about mischief from trailers that are left on the staging area or on the ferry. Fish slime and blood spills that run down the ferry deck can then end up under the feet of passengers, who drag it with them into parked cars and into the lounge on the ferry. The problem arises when the fish or the trailer is not sufficiently cooled before transport. Fresh fish going from Northern Norway to customers in Oslo or Europe should not be frozen, but kept cold. But if the temperature of the fish is too high, the ice in the box melts, which in turn causes meltwater and blood to flow through the box. Wagon train taken under control of heavy vehicles. The driver was fined because blood water from fish flowed into the hold. Photo: The Swedish Road Administration – Doesn’t seem like the industry is interested During the inspection in Steigen this week, the Swedish Road Administration experienced something different. The drivers at the slaughterhouse were left waiting to drive out. – That is what we experience more and more, that they stand and wait. We have experienced that they have ordered extra ferries at night, when we have finished our check to avoid being stopped, says Johansen. He believes the problems with runoff can be avoided, but says it costs time and money. Some transporters have bought trailers with collection tanks of 300 litres. Here, a mixture of ice water and blood water from fish flows out of a salmon trailer. Photo: Statens vegvesen – Most slaughterhouses can also choose to cool the fish down to 0 degrees before slaughtering. They can also transport it in double crates. The collected water then remains in the boxes. Or they can use completely sealed boxes. Then they minimized the problem, but it doesn’t seem like the industry is that interested, says Johansen. Wants punishment with fines Today, the Swedish Road Administration can only refuse to use trailers that are stopped with runoff from fish. The driver then has to cool the fish down before the transport can continue, using the cooling machine in the trailer. – Within a short time, something will happen with the regulations, says Johansen. The Norwegian Public Roads Administration is in dialogue with the authorities about intensifying the reaction against those responsible for fish transport. – We are discussing whether it is the sender, the carrier or the driver who should possibly have a fine. We may think that everyone must be punished. That is the only thing that is useful. What is being discussed is who will receive the punishment, and what punishment. Cermaq: – Our responsibility Astrid Aam is head of communications at Cermaq. She says that the company encourages the transporters to transport the salmon with cold degrees in the hold to prevent runoff. Communication manager Astrid Aam at Cermaq says she thinks it’s good that the Swedish Road Administration carries out these types of checks. She hopes it contributes to increased focus and speed in the work to find solutions. Photo: Cermaq – It is our fish and we pack the fish, so of course we also have a responsibility to ensure that it arrives where it is going in a good way. She says that runoff occurs when the ice in the Styrofoam boxes melts. – This is twofold. In the short term, we work to ensure the least possible runoff by ensuring that the fish has a low temperature when it arrives in the box, and that it is cold where the boxes are stored before loading and transport. In addition, time is an important factor. – If the load has time to “settle”, i.e. that all elements have a low temperature before departure, the likelihood of runoff is also reduced. Aam says that the seafood industry and transporters are working to establish a common standard to be able to collect and empty the meltwater where there are natural logistics hubs. – The results from the pilot project are promising and if the conclusion is that this is a solution, we want to establish this as quickly as possible. Aam says that the industry is testing the collection of runoff water on board the cars. – Until we have a good and permanent solution in place, a temporary measure is to have the lowest possible temperature inside the cars so that the ice does not melt. At the same time, it will be important to ensure enough time so that the salmon and cold room have the same low temperature before transport. Photo: Siv Dolmen / Sjømat Norge Deputy Managing Director Trond Davidsen of Sjømat Norge is absolutely clear that there should be no runoff. – That is our starting point. Runoff is not permitted. That something must be done, I think we all agree on that. But the problem here is to decide who is to blame here. And in the rule of law it is absolutely fundamental that you place the blame where it belongs. And here it is both the driver and possibly the slaughterhouse who may have a responsibility that has not been fulfilled. But we are working on possible solutions for this. But do most cars have cooling systems on board? Why is it not enough to let it go? – Of course you can’t wear it during the ferry ride. It is probably also about costs for carriers. They try to save diesel where possible.
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13 out of 16 vehicles were banned from use in Steigen – news Nordland
