The two trawlers for Síldarvinnslan are to replace the ten-year-old Vestmannaey and Bergey, which are operated by its subsidiary company Bergur-Huginn, and these two have been outstandingly successful fishing vessels over the years.
The new trawlers in the series of seven altogether each measure 28.95 metres with a breadth of 12 metres. In a departure from the usual trawler design, each will have a pair of 400hp Yanmar main engines powering twin propellers. The series of trawlers is also being fitted with the latest generation of electric winches.They are designed to each have accommodation for a crew of up to 13 and to have a fishroom capacity of 80 tonnes of fish iced in tubs.
According to Síldarvinnslan, construction is making good progress and the first two trawlers are expected to be delivered in the summer "These are big small trawlers, if that's the right way to describe them," said Vestmannaey's skipper Birgir Thór Sverrisson as he, Bergey's skipper Jón Valgeirsson and both chief engineers paid a visit to the yard in Norway to check on progress. "They're just under 29 metres, but have a 12 metre beam and are deep. We're excited to take delivery of the new trawlers, hopefully in the summer." "I'm happy with everything I've seen and these look to be practical and handsome ships," Jón Valgeirsson added.
"There will be better conditions on board these than in the older trawlers and the catch handling deck facilities will be a big improvement. I have a lot of confidence in these boats and it'll be interesting to work with innovations such as twin propellers," he said.
Síldarvinnslan is a long-time visitor to the Icelandic Fisheries Exhibition, and is one of many fishing companies that visit the exhibition to see the latest industry developments.
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