VESSEL REVIEW | Sparkling Star – Versatile pelagic trawler for Irish fishing family
FISHING/AQUACULTURE WEEK
Irish builder Mooney Boats has handed over a new fishing vessel to local owner and skipper Donal O’Neill and his sons Alan and Kieran.
Named Sparkling Star, the newbuild is designed for pelagic trawling but may also be configured for demersal trawling for whitefish. The vessel’s hull was built in Gdansk, Poland, while completion took place at Mooney Boats’ facilities in Killybegs. The vessel itself will be operated out of Castletownbere.
The trawler has an LOA of 31 metres, a beam of 8.7 metres, a gross tonnage of 346, and space for eight crewmembers. An ABC 6DZC four-stroke main engine drives a 3,380mm propeller via a Nogva Heimdal gearbox to deliver a top speed of just under 10 knots. Also fitted are two Scania DI09 auxiliary engines and a Deutz generator.
The array of fishing equipment consists of KT trawl nets and a complete package of winches, net drums, fish pumps, and two-tonne cranes supplied by SeaQuest Systems. The included winches may be controlled directly from the wheelhouse and were selected specifically to satisfy the efficiency and safety requirements of pelagic trawling.
The KER Group provided the vessel’s RSW system, which includes a 450kW plant. KER also installed the vacuum pump landing system, the air conditioning system for the crew cabins and the galley, and the walk-in chiller and freezer holds for storing food provisions.
The electronics suite meanwhile includes X-band radars and low-, medium- and high-frequency sonars from Furuno, JRC and WASSP echosounders, a Simrad autopilot, Sailor and ICOM VHF radios, and a Jotron EPIRB.
Atlantic Marine Supplies provided the vessel’s complement of liferafts, an MOB boat, lifejackets, and firefighting suits. An MMG Ocean folding gangway ensures safety during boarding and disembarkation while painting works on the exterior surfaces were undertaken by GCM. MB Hydraulikk supplied the vessel’s MOB boat davit.
| Sparkling Star | |
| SPECIFICATIONS | |
| Type of vessel: | Trawler |
| Flag: | Ireland |
| Owner: | O’Neill Family, Ireland |
| Builder: | Mooney Boats, Ireland |
| Length overall: | 31 metres |
| Beam: | 8.7 metres |
| Gross tonnage: | 346 |
| Main engine: | ABC 6DZC |
| Gearbox: | Nogva Heimdal |
| Propulsion: | Propeller |
| Auxiliary engines: | 2 x Scania DI09 |
| Generator: | Deutz |
| Maximum speed: | 9.9 knots |
| Radars: | Furuno X-band |
| Depth sounders: | JRC; WASSP |
| Radios: | Sailor VHF; ICOM VHF |
| Sonars: | Furuno |
| Autopilot: | Simrad |
| Plotter: | Sodena |
| Other electronics: | Jotron EPIRB; Marport; Timezero; Intellian |
| Winches: | SeaQuest Systems |
| Cranes: | SeaQuest Systems |
| Other deck equipment: | MMG Ocean gangway; MB Hydraulikk MOB boat davit |
| Fishing equipment: | KT; SeaQuest Systems |
| Refrigeration equipment: | KER Group |
| Other equipment installed: | KER Group air conditioning system |
| Paints: | GCM |
| Liferafts: | Atlantic Marine Supplies |
| Lifeboat: | Atlantic Marine Supplies |
| Accommodation: | Cabins; galley |
| Crew: | 8 |
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