VESSEL REVIEW | Havfisk – Veibust Fiskeriselskap welcomes blue whiting and mackerel seiner/trawler to fleet

Karstensens Skibsværft in Denmark recently handed over a new combination purse seiner/pelagic trawler to Norwegian fishing company Veibust Fiskeriselskap for operation by its subsidiary Havfisk out of Alesund.

The DNV-classed newbuild, which is also named Havfisk (“Monkfish”), was designed by Karstensens and built at the Gdansk facilities of its subisdiary Karstensens Shipyard Poland.

It is the third vessel to join the current active seining/trawling fleet of Havfisk and the fourth vessel overall to be acquired by the company since its establishment in 1993. Havskjer, one of the earlier vessels built in 2021, is also a product of Karstensens, and the newbuild incorporates many of the same basic design features.

Like the owner’s other vessels, Havfisk will be used primarily to trawl for blue whiting off the west coast of Ireland while other species such as herring and mackerel will be caught using seining gear.

Layout ensuring maximised use of deck and interior space

Design work on the vessel as well as the interior design and arrangements were undertaken in close collaboration between the Veibust Fiskeriselskap and Karstensens. The owner requested the incorporation of innovative solutions, and special emphasis was placed on optimising working conditions as well as the safety and comfort of the crew.

Havfisk’s hull is built in steel with three continuous decks and stern and boat decks with deckhouses, while the boat deck, the wheelhouse, the chimney, and the fore and aft masts are built in aluminium.

The hull is built on round frames with a transom and a nearly vertical bow with a bulb above and below the waterline. The stern is constructed with a kink line/bulb stem and skeg.

Below deck three, the hull is divided into watertight compartments including a forepeak, a bow thruster/sonar compartment, high tanks for fresh water and wash water, an RSW cargo section with 11 tanks and a central pump/manifold, and the engine room.

On deck three are a forepeak, stores, central compartments for the vacuum pump and the RSW plant, a starboard machinery workshop, and the hydraulic room with steering gear. This deck also contains the trim room and the engine control room.

Deck two contains the harbour generator room, stores, anti-roll tanks, hatches and cargo pipes for the eleven RSW tanks, and a straining box built into the hull. This deck also has nine crew cabins with en suite toilets, a medical bay, a laundry area, and an RSW control room.

On the main deck are an MOB boat with dedicated davit and the fishing equipment consisting of winches, fish pumps, hoses, a deck crane, and a smaller crane for use with the fish pumps.

The deckhouses on the main deck contain a day room, a cinema, a mess, a galley, a coffee bar, a changing room, two common toilets, four officer’s cabins, and a lifesaving equipment storage area.

Heavy-duty propulsion arrangement and enhanced onboard comfort

Power is provided by a 5,200kW (7,000hp) main engine and a Marelli 3,400kW shaft generator. This setup ensures sufficient power for propulsion during trawling as well as for the electrical system (primarily the side thrusters) during purse seining.

For additional power, the vessel is equipped with three Scania DI16 diesel generators, each with an output of 600 ekW. The electrical system is designed to allow parallel operation of the three generators. The electrical system is also equipped with a power management system that manages power consumption and can be used for the automatic start-up of the generators.

UPS/clean power for 230V is also installed, so that the ship's frequency can float between 50 and 60 Hz. This makes it possible to reduce the main engine speed by 17 per cent. The floating frequency will thus cover propeller speeds from 108 to 130 rpm.

The propulsion arrangement is also built with a take-me-home function.

As with other Karstensens-built fishing vessels, Havfisk's wheelhouse offers a full 360 degrees of visibility and the accommodation is located as far away from the propeller as possible in order to create the best possible design for low noise.

In addition, a number of constructive steps were made in order to create a low noise level. Trials showed that the noise level heard from inside while the engine is at 80 per cent MCR was just under 55 dB.