At the end of January the last of the old-style blue wooden fishing cutters from Hvide Sande left the port for the last time to head for the Smedegaarden scrapping yard in Esbjerg.
The 20-metre Karinette RI-275 was built at Hvide Sande Skibs & Bådebyggeri (now Hvide Sande Shipyard) 39 years ago, and has fished steadily and successfully for all those years.
Karinette was acquired eight years ago by Jens Frisch who intended it to be just a termporary measure, but instead he found himself fishing with it for much longer than intended – and it’s with regret that he has had to send it to Esbjerg to be broken up and scrapped.
The Danish Fisheries Agency last year initiated a scrapping scheme designed to reduce the fleet and offset the effects of Brexit. Applications closed on 1st November last year, and of the 54 applications, 31 were accepted as part of the DKK203 million buyout package. Successful applicants must complete scrapping their vessels by 1st July this year to compley with the terms.