Síldarvinnslan’s trawler Barði has been sold to new owners in Russia and has sailed to its new home port in Murmansk.
According to Síldarvinnslan, Barði is going from Neskaupstaður to Kirkenes in Norway where processing equipment will be fitted, before skipper Rinat Ulyukaev takes the trawler to fish for shrimp. He added that the trawler is expected to operate over a wide area in northern waters.
Barði was built at Flekkefjord in Norway in 1989 for Reyðarfjörður company Skipaklettur and was originally Snæfugl. Skipaklettur was merged with Síldarvinnslan in 2001.
For a while the factory freezer trawler operated under the UK flag, chartered to the British subsidiary of an Icelandic company as the Norma Mary, before it was brought back to Iceland and operated by Síldarvinnslan as Barði.
For many years Barði alternated freezing on board and landing fresh catches, but was extensively refitted in 2016 when the processing equipment was removed to focus solely on landing fresh catches.
BP Shipping handled the sale of Barði to its new Russian owners, and the sale is part of Síldarvinnslan’s long-term plans to renew its fleet of four demersal vessels with new tonnage.
