From October, the telemagenta 'Lottie Holly' will brighten the Welsh waters working the mussel beds of Myti Mussels in the United Kingdom.
Since its inception in 1982, this will be the fifth mussel dredger that the family firm has commissioned and the fourth from Maaskant Shipyards Stellendam, part of the Damen Shipyards Group.
In 2004, the innovative 21-metre mussel harvesting barge BS-1 'Lôlipop' was designed and built. The present 24-metre vessel BS-12 'Lottie Holly' is developed to replace the 'Lôlipop' and to perform fishing duties further afield.
The dual-purpose roles of fishing and harvesting, coupled with the strict UK fishing vessel regulations, have dictated the vessel's shape and form. The eye-catching colour of the hull was chosen by Mrs Valerie Mould, who together with Mr Kim Mould, are the sole owners of Myti Mussels.
According to Damen, Mr Mould worked closely with Maaskant Shipyards to on the eye-catching and novel concept. The 23.6-metre x 10-metre x 2.65-metre 'Lottie Holly', also known as the 'BS-12' after its home port Beaumaris in Wales, is being handed-over to Myti Mussels in Yerseke in late September.
This Dutch fishing-port will be the main destination of Myti Mussels harvest, being the wholesale distribution route that has determined the vessel's configuration with two rigs.
"We use 1,200-kilogram big bags to truck our catch overnight from Bangor to Yerseke. The bags are filled on board, directly after mussel flushing, instead of bulk storage in the ship's holds for onshore packaging", Mr Mould explains.
The mussel dredger has two holds, a mussel flushing bunker and two propulsion engines. The aft deckhouse with the wheelhouse on top leaves the crew free main deck space from three sides.
On deck, a 4-drum winch holds 300 metres of 16-mm fishing wire. There are also two rigs and a hydraulic marine-type deck crane with a 2.15-tonne SWL at seven metres. Finally, the 'Lottie Holly' is equipped with an accommodation for three crew.
