Fujian-Built Purse Seiners for Hainan

The 180,000 sq. m. area of the Fujian Southeast Shipyard is crowded with coastal freighters in for repair and a series of modern anchor handling tugs in various stages of constructions. The ISO9001-certified yard has the capability of building ships to 10,000 tons but also it has a long history of building fishing boats.

At one of the fitting out docks several 24-m tuna long liners await delivery to their French owners. At another dock a half dozen purse seiners are rafted alongside each other.

The purse seiners are part of a 36-boat order from an owner on the island province of Hainan off China's southeast coast. Each of the identical boats has a cabin aft with a long forward deck that includes the hold and forepeak with a wide platform over which the seine can be set. While definitions of the actual fishing method was somewhat limited by shipyard knowledge and technical translation it appears that the seine is pursed with a pair of capstans mounted on deck just under the wheelhouse. The seine would then be retrieved over the side and piled on deck ready to be reset over the bow.

A skiff that will be suspended from davits over the transom is used to aide in setting the net. Large banks of light sockets are mounted in rows to both port and starboard of the cabin for attracting the squid, which are the boat?s primary target. In the engine room a Cummins NTA855 engine mounted port-side powers a 250 kW generator to support the significant electrical demands of the banks of lights. Another Cummins NTA855 is mounted over the keel and turns a 1200 m/m propeller through a Hangzhou Advance? Gearbox model 300A with 7:1 reduction. A third NT855 with slightly lower horsepower is mounted starboard side in the engine room and turns an 800 m/m propeller through the same make and model of gearbox but in this case with a 4:1 reduction. This interesting combination of propulsive power is similar to the concept that led to three engines for some Hong Kong pair trawlers.