Longliner News

New Zealand’s Westfleet Seafoods, based in Greymouth, has earned an international reputation for quality and sustainability. While their fleet includes some mid-water trawlers, their preferred method of catching is longline. This method is noted for the quality and selectivity of the catch.The company’s current fleet includes five vessels, two of which are modern longliners. The success of these vessels has prompted the firm to order an additional longliner for delivery in early 2022.

SCHOTTEL has been awarded orders in the Norwegian fishery segment. Sefine Shipyard in Turkey has won the contract to build the largest live fish carrier in the world. Ordered by the Norwegian company Frøy Rederi, the Møre Maritime-designed vessel will provide space for 7,500 cubic meters of water in fishing tanks.The 83.20-meter-long and 30.90-meter-wide LFC is powered by an advanced diesel-electric propulsion system. The portion supplied by SCHOTTEL comprises two rudderpropellers type SRP 460 L CP (1…

Whether it's a pushboat, longliner, ferry or box ship, maintaining an optimal temperature is essential to an engine's performance and longevity. A keel cooler pump is no place to cut corners. That's why Mitsubishi Turbocharger and Engine America, Inc. chose the reliability of JMP Corporation's JPR-ME5000 for seven of its heavy and continuous duty engines, and cites the company's ongoing support as the reason it continues to do so.At 158 gph at 2,850 rpm, the JMP Corporation JPR-ME5000 Bronze Impeller Cooling Pump is a real performer. It has 2" NPT in and 1.5" NPT out ports.

The Coast Guard successfully medevaced a 37-year-old Filipino crewmember off a tuna longliner 80-miles north of Kauai, Sunday."Our trained crews and hoist-capable aircraft are vital to ensuring mariners reach a higher level of medical care quickly," said Petty Officer 2nd Class Ashley Gray, a communication unit controller with Coast Guard Sector Honolulu. "Our aircrews worked effectively with the fishermen to conduct the hoist, and delivered their crewmember in stable condition…

The shipping industry is set on a serious decarbonization course and the search is on for credible, viable and cost-effective solutions to meet the IMO’s initial strategy challenge to peak GHG emissions from international shipping as soon as possible and to reduce the total annual GHG emissions by at least 50 percent by 2050 compared to 2008.Wind propulsion technologies can help cut fuel costs significantly, make vessels compliant with existing and impending emission regulations…

Record hauls of wild fish, an unprecedented return on farmed salmon, finance and subsidy garner new orders, new designs and emboldened suppliers. In Scandinavia, particularly Norway, rich, carefully managed fisheries raise just one question for the commercially minded — which wave of business to ride. A growing number of large and small players are in on the action, as historic profits are heralded up and down the supply chain. For the hardened makers of gear that know tougher times, this is the golden age.

Seattle-based company Blue North has christened F/V Blue North, a state-of-the-art vessel designed to transform the fishing industry by improving conditions for workers, reducing environmental impact and harvesting seafood more humanely. Designed with sustainability in mind, the new longliner is geared specifically for the Alaskan cod fishery, built by Dakota Creek Industries, Inc. of Anacortes, Wash. from a design (ST-155L) by Norwegian firm Skipsteknisk AS. The new fish harvesting vessel…

Vigor will unveil its new 142’ Freezer Longliner designed specifically for North Pacific fishing at this year's Pacific Marine Expo in Seattle, Wash. Based on an existing design by Marco Marine, the 142’ x 33.6’ x 14’ vessel has a fish hold capacity of 14,070 cu ft and a bait hold capacity of 1,900 cu ft. “A new class of longliners is a central need for the recapitalization of the North Pacific fishing fleet, but to get these vessels built fishermen need to know they can depend on the design—and it better be affordable,” explained Keith Whittemore, Vigor Executive VP of Business Development.

In June of 2013 the Polish Shipyard Poltramp had begun construction of a 20.99 by 8.5-meter longliner for a Norwegian customer. In August of 2014 the new vessel, having completed successful fishing trips, travelled to Trondheim, Norway for exhibition at the Nor-Fishing trade show on behalf of Poltramp. Nearly 15,000 visitors from 48 countries visited the 2014 edition of the show. While attending the show, with the Cummins Marine display, Jon Folkedal, Cummins Norway Marine sales manager, took the opportunity to visit on board the M/V Grotle.

JK Fabrication has landed DNV certification for its 40-30-3000-DNV series Anchor Winch. Culminating a two-year process, JK’s C-series winch was at last awarded DNV Type Approval in March—the first time ever for an anchor winch in the U.S., the manufacturer said. Conceived by JK’s founder, Jim Kreider, the anchor winch was installed aboard the F/V Arctic Prowler, a longliner recently built in Seattle. The winch accommodates 950 ft of 1 1/8” wire rope and a single shot (90 ft) of 1 3/16” Grade 2 stud-link chain…

Alaska Longline, LLC, and Alaska Ship & Drydock (ASD) will christen the F/V Arctic Prowler on Oct. 5, 2013. The ceremony for the new 136 ft. freezer longliner will be held at the Ketchikan Shipyard in Ketchikan, Alaska. F/V Arctic Prowler, the first large commercial fishing vessel to be built in Alaska, is an Ocean going Factory Longliner, capable of processing and storing catch aboard. The vessel is to be Load Lined and classed by Det Norske Veritas (DNV) and will be U.S. flagged. The design shall comply with all applicable U.S. Coast Guard and Class Society stability requirements.

Vigor Industrial has emerged as a leading consolidator of shipbuilding prowess on the U.S. West Coast, and the company continues to invest in new capability and infrastructure. “Over the past year there has been a marked increase in vessel fabrication opportunities of all kinds, including for ferries, tugs, barges, and fishing vessels,” said Vince Piscitello, VP of Sales, Marketing and Business Development. Earlier this year Vigor signed an agreement to build the largest floating drydock in the United States, and construction is currently underway.

Jensen Maritime awarded for vision and innovation in design of the 'Northern Leader'  longline fishing vessel. Jensen Maritime , Crowley Maritime Corp’s Seattle-based naval architecture and marine engineering firm, has been honored with the New Wave Award, which recognizes the company’s vision and innovation for the concept and design of the Northern Leader, a 184-foot long, environmentally-friendly longline fishing vessel owned by Alaskan Leader Fisheries LLC. The Northern Leader is currently under construction at J.M.

Vigor Industrial is a comprehensive marine services provider specializing in shipbuilding and ship repair. Three years ago, Vigor initiated an aggressive growth strategy that consolidated major shipyard facilities in Oregon, Washington, and Alaska under one umbrella, and more than doubled the size of its business, and leading a renaissance of the marine business on the U.S. West Coast. Over the next five years, Vigor has set its sights on an expansion plan that will double the current size of the company. In early 2012, Vigor Industrial acquired Alaska Ship & Drydock (ASD).

Afognak is the name of an island, and a mountain in the northern part of the Kodiak Archipelago. It is also the name of a passage between little Whale Island and Afognak Island on the shores of which Kevin O’Leary has 143 wilderness acres and a cabin. So when it came to naming their new boat it is the passage, Afognak Straits, that Kevin O’Leary and his vessel partner, Walter Sargent, chose for their new longliner. Delivered by Fred Wahl Marine of Reedsport Oregon this past summer the Afognak Straits is currently, as of September 20, in Dutch Harbor, Alaska.

New State-of-the-Art Shipbuilding Production Center Opens For Business In Ketchikan, Alaska. Alaska Ship & Drydock Already at Work on the First Vessel to be Completed in the Facility, a 136’ Longliner. The outlook for building new ships at Alaska Ship & Drydock (ASD), a Vigor Industrial company, just got a lot brighter, warmer, and drier with the opening of the Ketchikan Shipyard’s state-of-the-art assembly hall designed to build ships up to 500 feet in length. The assembly hall is 70,000 square feet with an adjacent 5-story production center to minimize material flow and maximize efficiency.

Jensen-Designed Commercial Longliner Fishing Vessel, Northern Leader, Achieves Construction Milestone; Environmentally Friendly Vessel is Ahead of Schedule Due to Jensen’s Advanced Production Engineering Services. One of the world’s largest commercial longliner fishing vessels, designed by Seattle-based Jensen Maritime Consultants, has reached the important milestone of having the main deck completed ahead of schedule, only 10 weeks into the construction phase. This accomplishment…

Woodinville, WA-9 Dec. 2008- Captain Rodney McVicker is the second West Coast longliner to install Wesmar stabilizers - a set of Wesmar 16-foot roll fin stabilizers on his 61-foot F/V Sundancer. McVicker says his Wesmar stabilizers provide more comfort and lessen fatigue for his crew. The three month albacore season, running from end of June to October, requires McVicker and his crew to constantly travel at sea each day. McVicker learned about Wesmar stabilizers when Bill Hammer, owner of the F/V Silver Lady, recommended them.

When fisherman Bill Hammer installed Wesmar’s Roll Fin Stabilizers on his 56-foot Longliner, it was the first known installation of an active fin stabilization system on a fishing vessel anywhere in the world. Hammer estimates that the stabilizers saves him 10-15% in fuel costs, saying with the stabilizers he can back off the throttle by about 100-150 RPM and still maintain his original speed, therefore increasing efficiency. “By maintaining full boat speed in rough water conditions, fishing boats are more efficient and safer.

The search for crewmen missing in what is believed to be Alaska's worst fishing disaster was hampered by bad weather and poor visibility in the Bering Sea on Tuesday, the U.S. Coast Guard said. Two crew members, including the captain, were found dead and 13 were missing from the Arctic Rose, a vessel that sank Monday in an area about 200 miles northwest of Alaska's St. Paul Island, 850 southwest of Anchorage. The Coast Guard has been using an ice-breaking vessel and aircraft to search the area, but has sighted nothing since finding some empty survival suits, an empty life raft and an oil sheen on Monday. "We haven't found any sign of any other life, or bodies, for that matter," said a Coast Guard official.

A.F. Theriault & Son Ltd. of Metahgan River, Nova Scotia has begun construction of a 99.3 x 26.3-ft. steel-hulled longliner for Wesley Henneberry. The boat will be powered by a Cummins KTA38 M1 rated for 1,000 hp at 1,800 rpm driving through a ZF BW361 marine gear with a 6.16:1 ratio. Auxiliary power for the electrical system will be a pair of six cylinder Cummins B-series engines each turning 70 Kw Onan gen sets. The hull, with a 13-ft. molded depth, will included a four-man cabin aft of the engine room. Forward of the engine room an insulated and refrigerated 7,000 cu. ft. hold will stow around 250,000 pounds of iced fish. On the main deck forward will be a bait freezer of about 2000 cu. ft.

The operator of the world’s largest and most modern molten sulphur tanker has enjoyed four years of near-continuous service, thanks in part to the ship’s innovative thermal maintenance system. Sulphur Carriers, Inc., a subsidiary of International Shipholding Corporation, keeps M/V Sulphur Enterprise at sea hauling around 24,000 long tons of molten sulphur per trip. “We’ve had zero freeze-ups and zero maintenance associated with the bolt-on piping and valve heating system,” says Peter Johnston, Sulphur Carriers’ VP of operations. For reportedly the first time on any sulphur transport ship, a bolt-on heating system keeps the molten cargo flowing and the ship on schedule by preventing costly delays due to frozen pipes and valves.