Wärtsilä is to design a 115 metre dedicated krill catcher for Chinese company Jiangsu Deep Sea Fisheries Co.
The ship is designed with the capacity to tow its fishing gear with catches pumped continuously on board top be processed using a range of new technologies for producing frozen krill, krill meat and Omega 3 fish oil. The contract for the trawler’s design, based on Wärtsilä’s VS6206FT design, was placed by Hansail Marine and Offshore Design and signed in December last year.
This would make the 115 metre vessel the world’s largest krill catcher and the implication is that this is being planned as a series of vessels for harvesting krill in Antarctic waters.
This initial contract is for a basic design, with Wärtsilä supplying Class and Flag Authority related drawings and arrangements needed for the necessary approvals and certifications. These will also provide the basis for future more detailed engineering prior to the building of the ship.
‘This new series of vessels represents a new generation of krill fishing solutions and we are grateful to Wärtsilä for producing a design that fully meets our needs. For fishing in the harsh and sensitive waters of the Antarctic, the ship’s design must be reliable, safe and environmentally sound. We believe that Wärtsilä has succeeded in all these areas,’ said Wang Zhi, owner of Jiangsu Sunline Deep Sea Fisheries Co. Ltd.
