Orkney Islands welcomes purpose-built whitefish trawler

Orkney Islands skipper Tommy Tulloch and engineer Michael Leslie have taken delivery of their new whitefish trawler Keila, which was designed and completed by Denmark’s Vestværftet in Hvide Sande on a hull built at the Nauta yard in Poland.

The first purpose-built whitefish boat built for Orkney in almost 20 years, the single-rig trawler Keila measures 28 metres overall with an 8.2-metre beam and 4.1-metre moulded depth. It is powered by an eight-cylinder Caterpillar 3508 engine.

Fishing activities will be focused towards the stern of the full-length shelterdeck, with catches of cod, haddock and saithe being bagged over the transom on the vessel’s centreline.

Keila’s fish-handling deck has been fitted out by VCU with a full sorting, gutting and washing system, and hoppers in the fishroom with capacity for 1400 boxes. Nordkøl supplied the two 4,500kg Buus slush icemakers and the fishroom chiller system.