Trawler company Havfisk has ordered a stern trawler from shipbuilder Vard at a value of approximately NOK325m (US$40m).
The newbuild will be a combination trawler that is able to deliver both fresh and frozen fish. The vessel will have good catch capacity for both white fish and shrimp, and all residual raw material will be made use of.
The vessel is expected to be delivered at the beginning of 2018.
The new vessel will be of VARD 8 02 design. With a length of 80m and featuring two separate cargo holds for refrigerated and frozen fish, a fish factory and a freezing capacity of 80 tons per 24 hours, Vard says that the trawler will be the first of its kind.
Developed by Vard Design in Ålesund, the new vessel design reflects a high focus on safe operations, efficiency, cargo handling and the crew’s wellbeing. The hull will be built at Vard Braila in Romania and delivery of the vessel is scheduled from Vard Søviknes in Norway.
Vard’s CEO and executive director Roy Reite said, “We are honoured to once again have been selected to design and build a new state-of-the-art trawler for Havfisk. We appreciate the excellent cooperation experienced in the first design phase, and we look forward to continuing the good work together with the Havfisk team."
Vard has previously developed a series of three fishing vessels for Havfisk - Gadus Poseidon, Gadus Njord and Gadus Neptun, which were delivered in 2013 and 2014 respectively.
The newbuild is financed by bank loan and will have limited effect on the company's liquidity. Havfisk has signed a termsheet with DNB and Nordea on refinancing of the company's long-term liabilities, including financing of the newbuild.
“Havfisk has in recent years renewed and upgraded the fleet. With this newbuild Havfisk will increase the efficiency and flexibility further. The new vessel will be an attractive and modern workplace for our employees”, said Havfisk CEO Webjørn Barstad.
