HB Grandi’s recently refitted vessel ‘Helga María AK’ is now on its way home from Poland and is expected to dock in Reykjavík this week.
Helga María AK has been at Alkor yard in Poland since June and has been converted from a freezer trawler to a fresher trawler.
According to HB Grandi’s marine superintendent Gísli Jónmundsson it will still be a while before the vessel is back fishing as the new factory deck has yet to be fitted by 3X Technology and other contractors.
Mr Jónmundsson said that the largest element of the refit was the conversion of the refrigerated fishroom into a chiller fishroom.
“The fishroom has been extended, as the compressor space was no longer needed and two side tanks were also removed. The fishroom hatch has been moved to one side, the whole fishroom was fitted out and a new chiller system has been installed. The catch handling deck was stripped out back to bare metal. Everything was sandblasted and new cladding fitted all round. The fish reception pounds have been cladded in stainless steel and a new partition, also in stainless steel, has been fitted. The crew get a complete new oilskin store fully equipped as a coffee room and with washing facilities. The main deck from the stern ramp to the old fishroom hatch was renewed, with the hatches shifted to one side and part of the galley had to be sacrificed to make this possible, so a new galley was fitted and the mess area given a facelift.”
He said that the ice gallows were removed and the frames of the gallows were strengthened for the towing blocks. The ramp was also renewed and new steel plates fitted where necessary, with both the stern gate and the fish hatch replaced with new. The water tanks were sandblasted and painted, as was the rest of the ship that has been painted from the top of the mast to the keel. All of the low pressure pipework was taken down, sandblasted and painted, while the high pressure pipes on deck were all replaced with new.
