"The Kopra family made the transformation from traditional fishing
vessels to amphibians in 1993 with the creation of the Moby Duck.
David Kopra saw the advantages of using a wheeled fishing vessel to
harvest the shallow water salmon. The Moby Duck was placed into
operation in Bristol Bay Alaska successfully operating on the large
tidal zone. The company attained another LARC V to operate as a
support vessel dedicated to the tactical advantage of operating in
pairs.
In the past years the company purchased additional amphibians’ a
LARC V and a LARC IV, increasing the fleet to four vessel's. The
vessels have engaged in multiple contracts supporting the Salmon
industry. Due to the inaccessibility of shore processing plants and
lack of piers the vessels have transported a variety of cargoes
seaward and shoreward. During the 17 years of operating amphibians,
the Kopras have used their vessel fleet to transport a plethora of
cargoes and respond to numerous emergency situations.
Working in remote locations under the strain of a high paced
fishery the development of a successful operating and maintenance
system has been one of the company greatest achievements.The
current ambition of KAMO is to find both geographical and
industrial niches that the amphibious fleet could work
in."
The LARC’s were originally used by the US ARMY to transfer cargo
from sea to shore. They are the next generation to the old WW II
Ducks. Made of aluminum with 4 large balloon tires the LARC’s are
much lighter and more maneuverable than the Ducks.
