With a few trips now behind it, Vinnslustöðin’s new trawler Breki, delivered earlier this year, has more than met the expectations of both its owners and crew.
The new Breki’s fishing capacity with its twin-rig trawl gear is equal to the combined capability of the two older trawlers it has replaced, while consuming a third less fuel than either of the older vessels.
‘It looks very promising and fuel consumption is less than I had expected,’ said skipper Magnús Ríkarðsson, while Breki was steaming home with a capacity trip of 400 tubs of cod, redfish and saithe caught on fishing grounds west of Iceland.
The propellers of the Skipasýn-designed Breki and its sister ship Páll Pálsson are significantly larger than is usual for Icelandic trawlers, and the large propeller is the key to the low fuel usage. During the design process the theory was that a larger propeller turning at low revolutions would produce more power, and could reduce fuel consumption by as much as 40%.
‘Experience from Breki’s initial trips confirms that the propeller design predictions are fully valid. Fuel economy is even better than we had dared to hope,’ commented Guðni Ingvar Guðnason, who manages maintenance of Vinnslustöðin’s vessels and buildings.
