Icelandic fishing company Brim has accepted an offer for one of its trawlers from a Russian buyer.
Brim acquired factory trawler Brimnes ten years ago from Aker Seafood in Norway and it has since then consistently been among the top catchers in the Icelandic fleet.
Built as Vesttind in 2003 at Solstrand in Tomrefjord, Brimnes is a 70 metre LOA, 14.60 metre beam factory trawler designed by Skipsteknisk. It has a 6000kW main engine and was one of the first vessels of its kind to be built with an electric winch system with four main trawl winches for towing three trawls.
According to reports from Iceland, the two crews manning Brimnes have been given notice.
Brim’s owner Guðmundur Kristjánsson recently acquired a one-third shareholding in HB Grandi, and has taken a seat on the HB Grandi board, making changes in the composition of Brim’s assets a likely result of this development.
Guðmundur Kristjánsson was quoted as saying that the offer from the Russian buyer was too good to turn down, and that freezer trawlers are becoming a less attractive option as processing ashore has become more economic.
