A new longliner for New Zealand fishing company Westfleet Seafoods will be both longer and beamier than the two longline boats that are already part of its fleet.
Westfleet operates trawlers and longliners, and when it came to investing in new capacity, the decision was for a new longliner.
The 26 metre LOA by 7.80 metre breadth Te Runanga will have a steel hull and aluminium superstructure, and the design has been completed by naval architect Oceantech, which has branches in both Australia and New Zealand. The new longliner is to be built by AIMEX Services Group, and will be one of only a handful of longliners to be built in New Zealand when it is delivered in mid-2022.
Two metres longer than the company’s present longliners, Te Runanga will be able to operate on fisheries the smaller boats aren’t able to reach, and will have capacity to cope with heavier weather conditions.
The larger size also means more storage, with a 15.6m3 refrigerated space and a 112.5m3 chilled fishroom for the 660 litre tubs catches of primarily ling will be held.
Going for a larger vessel also provides opportunities to make life more comfortable for the crew with crew areas alongside the wheelhouse to promote engagement between the skipper and the crew, and accommodation placed one deck down. Te Runanga is expected to work with a crew of eight, and all told its catches are predicted to provide 20-25 jobs – a significant boost in employment in the area.
Engine power for the new longliner will come from a single Cummins QSK19-M diesel delivering 492kW at 1800rpm to a fixed-pitch propeller through a ZF gear. Tank capacity is for 60,340 litres of fuel and 20,120 litres of fresh water.
Westfleet is jointly owned by Sealord and the company’s managing director Craig Boote – and Te Runanga takes its name from where he grew up on New Zealand’s west coast.
Plenty of new technology will be going into Te Runanga, including laser systems to deter seabirds from approaching the baited hooks as the gear is shot away, as well as the baffler systems already in use on Westfleet’s current longliners.
Te Runanga has been designed by Oceantech and will be built by AIMEX Services Group. Image: Oceantech
