HB Grandi says that the retirement of two of its freezer trawlers is both part of the company’s strategy to increase land-based production and because of the consequences of a reduction in quotas.
Brynjolfur Eyjolfsson, HB Grandi, told World Fishing & Aquaculture: “By processing more on land we can increase both efficiency and flexibility in our production. We aim to export more fresh products and by processing more in our factories in Reykjavík and Akranes, we can supply a wider range of products according to our customers needs.”
HB Grandi's freezer trawler Venus HF docked in Reykjavík recently on its final trip for the company. Its final voyage took the vessel all around Iceland. The catch totalled 845 tonnes of raw fish, equivalent to 19,200 cartons of frozen products with a catch value of ISK 235m.
It’s not clear what will ultimately happen to the vessel, but for now it will be laid up.
The vessel was originally built in 1973 in Spain by Bæjarútgerð Hafnarfjarðar (BÚH). In 1984 the ship was renamed as Venus HF and there were ideas about refitting it to operate as a freezer, which was finally done in Denmark in 1986.
Following a fire, the ship was rebuilt at a yard in Poland in 1996.
The other retired HB Grandi vessel Helga Maríe AK was converted to operate as a wetfish trawler earlier this year.
