Bluewild AS, Ulstein Design & Solutions AS and Westcon Yards have been awarded Ship of the Year 2023 for the environmentally-friendly factory trawler Ecofive.
This is the first time a fishing vessel has received the award, which was given at an award ceremony held on 6 June 2023 at the Nor-Shipping exhibition, with Norway’s Minister of Fisheries and Ocean Policy, Bjørnar Skjæran, announcing the winners.
The awards jury stated that Ecofive offers ground-breaking technology with several innovations for a greener fishing fleet.
Ecofive is 73.2 metres long, has a cargo space of approximately 2,000 cubic metres and is equipped with a triple trawl and a pelagic trawl. The equipment suppliers are mainly from the Norwegian maritime cluster.
It is fitted with a hybrid propulsion system where the battery system has a capacity of 1,130 kWh. In addition to several energy efficiency measures, this will collectively provide at least a 25% reduction in fuel consumption and emissions compared to a corresponding modern vessel of this type. The savings can be up to 40% for some operations.
The twin propulsion system with rudder nozzles is the most significant single area for energy efficiency. This alone reduces energy consumption by 15% compared to conventional vessels of the same type. Ecofive was also delivered with electrical winches, comprehensive heat recovery, and further energy efficiency measures.
It features catch technology designed to take care of raw materials from catch to finished product. This includes a gentle trawling and boarding process where the catch flows in below the waterline.
Live storage of the catch takes place in water-filled tanks at the reception system, while CO2 is used as a refrigerant to provide a lower temperature during freezing and end-product higher quality.
Ecofive is also capable of processing multiple products, and all residual raw materials are recovered for use.
Shipowner Bluewild and ship designer Ulstein Design & Solutions said the technology used was taken from fish carriers and land-based facilities and merged into a complete design package for onboard production.
The name Ecofive comes from the working title of the project “eco-friendly-fishing-vessel”.
This year’s Ship of the Year award was presented by magazine Skipsrevyen, and the jury comrised Gustav Erik Blaalid, Chair of the Board of Skipsrevyen, Sverre Steen, Head of Department at NTNU in Trondheim, and Hans Jørgen Rambech, senior advisor at Sintef Ocean in Trondheim.
