Owners of Atlantic Enterprise, delivered in late 2023 to the joint-venture between Canadian seafood group Clearwater and Danish fishing company Ocean Prawns, weren’t interested in half-measures when the design of the new vessel was finalised with naval architect Skipsteknisk.
This isn’t the first time that the company and the designer have worked together, as Skipsteknisk also designed Ocean Tiger, built at the Søviknes yard in 1997 and the previous Atlantic Enterprise. Now fishing for Norwegian owners, this 2002 vessel broke new ground at the time when it was built at Aker Langsten, with a focus on economy and energy efficiency that was significantly ahead of its time.
With the new Atlantic Enterprise, the owners are again breaking new ground as this is the first fishing vessel to be built to comply with Polar Code requirements. These entail extremely strict water management, catalytic converters on all of the engines on board, and optimal energy utilisation. Minimal emissions to water and air are critical key factors. The option was also taken to build this ST-119 design vessel to the highest possible Ice Class.
Built at Tersan in Turkey and operating under the Canadian flag, Atlantic Enterprise has an overall length of 82.3 metres with an 18-metre beam and accommodation on board is for a crew of up to 35. Atlantic Enterprise is outfitted with four permanent magnet winches for towing triple-rig gear.
The new trawler made its delivery trip to Canada with chairman of the Ocean Prawns board Kristian Barslund Jensen among those onboard. He’s no newcomer to this with his many years of experience as skipper on fishing grounds across the North Atlantic, and his long experience and that of the company have been integral to the design and development of the new trawler.
Fast onboard processing
The build also incorporates plenty of new thinking in automation and robotics on its Carsoe factory deck, with production lines for shrimp and Greenland halibut, and the new thinking in robotic handling is designed to ensure swift processing and throughput, while eliminating heavy lifting and any hazardous operations on the factory deck.
The two-level 3,000-cubic-metre cargo hold is arranged for palletised storage of 1,900 tonnes of Greenland halibut or 1,200 tonnes of both cooked and uncooked shrimp, with catches frozen in a pair of high-capacity automated freezers.
“This trawler is outfitted with the latest equipment in every respect, from the factory deck to the freezers, fishing gear, winches and cranes,” Ocean Prawns CEO Daniel Barslund said.
“Throughout this process, we have worked closely with our suppliers, who have also seen this as an exciting and challenging task. We have allied ourselves with the best in the market in every aspect, with a strong focus on gentle fishing, increased efficiency and not least the quality, taste and freshness of the catch.”
