VESSEL REVIEW | Østerfjord – Turkish-built 67m seiner/longliner designed for Norwegian waters

Turkey’s Tersan Shipyard has completed construction of a new longliner and Danish seiner for Osterfjord, a fishing company based in Torangsvag in the western Norwegian municipality of Austevoll.

Designed by Norwegian naval architects Marin Teknikk, the newbuild, which is also named Østerfjord, has an LOA of 67 metres, a moulded beam of 14.6 metres, and a depth of 5.9 metres from the main deck. It is also noteworthy for being one of the first – as well as one of the largest – fishing vessels that were designed from the outset to combine longlining and Danish seining capability, thus providing its owners with the flexibility needed to satisfy quotas.

The vessel is also equipped with a hybrid propulsion system that can operate on either diesel mechanical, diesel-electric, or pure electric mode for improved flexibility under different operating conditions. The propulsion system includes a Rolls-Royce Bergen main diesel engine with a rated output of 2,560 kW, two Yanmar generator sets, a 500kWh battery pack, a propeller and thrusters from Schottel, and a steering system and a rudder supplied by Kongsberg Maritime. Box cooling for the engine is provided by Kelvion.

The onboard facilities include a moonpool and accommodations spaces for 23 personnel. The moonpool will guarantee increased catch rates as well as safe fishing operations in all weather conditions, as it reduces the need for the crew to be out on the deck. Work on the interior spaces was provided by Maritime Turkey while Elkon performed all electrical installation work. The interiors also feature Gurdesan walkways, Jets toilets, and Survitec fire suppression equipment.

The processing equipment includes a PE Bjordal H&G factory deck with an Oyangen refrigerated fishroom, freezers, by-catch processing facilities, a vacuum system from Cflow Fish Handling, and a palletising system so that catch can be quickly and easily offloaded while the vessel is in port. The autoline fishing system meanwhile consists of 76,000 hooks.

The deck machinery includes an Asian Star anchor plus anchor winches, mooring winches, and cranes provided by Karmøy Winch. Vestdavit meanwhile supplied the davits to be used for the deployment of the vessel’s lifeboats.

The vessel also benefits from exterior lighting including floodlights from Glamox and navigation lights from Tranberg. Other electronics include a Furuno fish finder and Sunncom CCTV cameras. In the wheelhouse, the crew utilise seats from Alu Design.

Østerfjord was delivered to its new owners in January 2022. The vessel has since been put to use fishing for whitefish off western Norway.

Click here for more news and gear stories, feature articles, and vessel reviews as part of this month’s focus on fishing and aquaculture.