Icelandic fishing company HB Grandi has sold one of its freezer trawlers, which will be delivered to new owners Sea Harvest Corporation in South Africa on 15th November.
The 64m LOA by 13m beam filleter freezer trawler Therney was built in 1992 and acquired by HB Grandi the following year. Sea Harvest has a fleet of 29 vessels, of which 18 currently operate in south Africa, mainly on hake, and 11 in Western Australia fishing for Shark Bay king and tiger prawns. The company’s fleet fishing from Saldanha Bay in South Africa currently consists of four freezers and eight fresher trawlers.
Therney was built at the Sterkoder yard in Norway as one of the Nevelsk series of trawlers for the Soviet Union and was originally named Mikhail Levashov.The series of newbuilds was eventually distributed around the world, with some still operating in Russia.
The disposal of Therney is part of HB Grandi’s long-term strategy to renew its fleet. Two new pelagic vessels have already replaced four old ones. Two of three new fresher trawlers replacing older vessels have already been delivered and one of the older trawlers, Ásbjörn, has already been sold to Iran, while the third newbuild is expected to be delivered before the end of the year and two other elderly fresher trawlers are expected to be taken out of service.
The company has ordered a new factory stern trawler from the Astilleros Armon yard in Spain that promises to be one of the most sophisticated of its kind in the world when it is delivered in 2019. The newbuild is expected to replace two freezer, and with Therney on the way to South Africa, the likelihood is that freezer trawler Höfrungur III or Örfirisey will also leave the fleet before the new trawler arrives.
The sale price of Therney has been put at US$13,50 million.
Therney has worked with two crews of 27, and HB Grandi has pledged to find them berths on other of the company’s vessels wherever possible.
