Westfleet Seafoods to Add New Longliner
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. The new vessel has been designed by Oceantech, a firm of architects with offices in both New Zealand and Australia. Westfleet Fishing’s associated firm AIMEX Services Group will built the new vessel.
The new steel-hulled vessel, to be named Te Runanga, will have an aluminum superstructure. It is, at 26 by 7.8 by 3.6 meters, two meters longer and beamier than the firm’s existing longliners. This is larger than other longline vessels in the fleet and allows for significantly larger hold and fuel capacity. Two holds, 15.6 cubic meters for freezer and 112.5 cu.mt. of refrigerated, provide twice the capacity as the company’s other two longliners. Catches will be stowed on ice in 660-liter insulated totes for reduced handling and ease of offloading.
Propulsion power for the new longliner will come from a single Cummins QSK19-M diesel delivering 660 hp (492 kW) at 1800 RPM to a fixed pitch propeller through a ZF gear. Tankage is provided for 60,340 liters of fuel and 20,120 liters of fresh water.
The Westfleet is jointly owned by Sealord and the firm’s managing director Craig Boote, who has committed to a high level of comfort for the boat’s crew of up to eight people. He has been quoted saying, “I’ve tried to design it so that when the crew ‘go home’ to their accommodations at night it’s like going into an upmarket townhouse.”
The Te Runanga will also be fitted with the latest technology to avoid seabird interaction with the baited hooks. In addition to the crew onboard the vessel, its catches will also contribute significantly to Westfleet Seafoods, shore side processing employment.