AWARDS 2025 | Best Tuna Pole Vessel – Tightline – Sachal Shipyard

Tightline stands out as a remarkable bespoke tuna pole-and-line vessel, crafted by South Africa's Sachal Shipyard for the demanding coastal and offshore waters of the region. Measuring a compact 14.5 metres in length with a five-metre beam and under 25 gross tonnes, this Category A-rated craft maximises capability while staying within regulatory limits that keep manning costs low.

It features full live-bait capability, with three of six insulated fish tanks equipped with circulation systems and lighting to preserve live bait, enabling extended operations in remote tuna grounds where larger, costlier vessels traditionally dominate.

"Tightline sits in a very attractive niche for us; purpose-built, custom commercial vessels," Nic Stevens, Managing Director at Sachal Shipyard, told Baird Maritime. "Every build comes with its own set of challenges and requirements and Tightline was no exception.

"What made this project particularly special was the opportunity to experiment with new ideas, engineer fresh concepts, and still deliver a robust, aesthetically pleasing, and finely finished vessel that can withstand a demanding commercial environment. The combination of custom design, high functionality, and a strong visual presence made the build both interesting and very rewarding for our team."

Stevens added that the company learns a great deal from every project, both in terms of client requirements and ways to improve efficiency for the end user, as well as the company's own internal processes.

"Tightline was built to a tight deadline and required us to integrate a large number of systems into a compact but very capable platform. This pushed us to refine our engineering, improve our space utilisation, and streamline installation and commissioning.

"The key lessons revolved around a smarter system layout, better planning of interfaces between different technologies, and further standardising of certain processes so we can offer more, engineer even better systems, and continue to create distinctive vessels."

The work on Tightline took place in 2025, which Stevens said was both a busy and rewarding year for Sachal Shipyard as indicated by a number of interesting projects and new concepts taking shape.

"We have effectively been at full capacity throughout the year and are innovating at every stage of the process," he told Baird Maritime. "There is a strong focus on expanding into larger market segments and attracting more international clients, and we are seeing positive responses on both fronts."

Stevens remarked that compared to previous years, the workload in 2025 was higher, the projects were more technically ambitious, and the level of enquiry was more encouraging, which makes the company optimistic about the future.

Even with the optimism, Stevens admitted that there will be prevailing issues in the commercial fishing industry in the future such as increasing costs and regulations becoming stricter, thus necessitating that vessels be built to be more efficient and capable of doing more with the same or fewer resources.

"For us, that is an exciting challenge, as it allows us to bring bold ideas into practice and see them come to life in working vessels. We expect to see significantly more advanced technology in every aspect of commercial fishing, from fishing systems and catch handling to energy management and navigation.

"Without embracing these advances, vessels will struggle to keep up with market and regulatory demands. Efficiency, smart integration of systems, and better data will be key differentiators."

Stevens added that there is an evident need for larger FRP fishing vessels. In response, Sachal Shipyard placed strong emphasis on developing its 30-metre, 32-metre, 36-metre and eventually 40-metre designs.

"These are major undertakings, and we approach each project carefully, with a lot of focus on the naval architecture and engineering aspects to ensure we can deliver vessels that are genuinely best-in-class in their segment."

Speaking about the state of the South African workboat industry, Stevens expects that the growth in the South African mining sector will create new opportunities for Sachal Shipyard.

"We have been fortunate to develop several successful mining and dredging vessels over the past three years, and we are hopeful that growth in the mining sector will create opportunities to deliver more of these specialised units," he told Baird Maritime.

"The South African workboat market does not yet include many FRP vessels, and we would like to see that change. We are actively positioning ourselves to enter the offshore supply, pilot vessel, and service vessel markets."

Stevens believes that with FRP, Sachal Shipyard can offer more practical vessels in terms of both capital outlay and operating costs, compared to vessels made from other alternative materials, while still tailoring each vessel very precisely to the operational requirements of the industry.

"In addition, we see strong potential for larger FRP workboats in this market and are working to position our larger designs accordingly. Our goal is to be able to supply 30-metre-plus workboats that combine the advantages of FRP construction with robust commercial capability, giving operators a competitive, efficient alternative in the larger vessel segment."

For a list of the 2025 "Best Of" award winners, please click here.