Only a few years after the delivery of one of the most modern pelagic vessels in the world, Hirtshals-based fishing company Ruth AS has sold Ruth to Norwegian operator K Halstensen – and has ordered a new Ruth to be delivered in 2021.
The Ruth fishing company was established by Gullak Madsen in 1988 and the recently sold Ruth, the first vessel to carry the name, was the company’s first new vessel, built at Karstensens in Skagen and delivered in March 2016. Now the company is taking over the Norwegian Slaaterøy as a stop-gap as the sixth Ruth, until the newbuilding is ready.
Gullak Madsen and his partners went back to the Karstensen yard for the new vessel, which will measure 89.35 metres overall with a 17 metre beam. The design includes electrical winches, 950 kW Brunvoll side thrusters, and a 1479kW Brunvoll azimuthing thruster.
The main engine will be a 5000kW unit driving a 4500mm propeller optimised for the vessel’s expected operating pattern with around 80% of its operating time steaming, but with capacity for fishing blue whiting which one of the key target species, as well as fishing for herring and mackerel. The intention is to minimise emissions, so the choice has gone to a fuel-optimised man engine with Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) to minimise NOx emissions.
A 2x1500kW Johnson Controls RSW system and a triple vacuum system with 3200 litre tanks are part of the design. The final selection of equipment will be made in the coming weeks, with a significant contribution expected to be made by local Danish suppliers.
The current Ruth is to be delivered to K Halstensen in February next year, when it will be one of the most efficient and modern pelagic vessels operating under the Norwegian flag as it becomes the new Slaatterøy. Ruth AS is taking the current 76 metre Slaatterøy, built in 1997, in part exchange to catch the company’s quotas until the new vessel is delivered.
The hull of the new Ruth is scheduled to be completed and delivered to Skagen in December 2020, with a completion date in June 2021. Ruth has been designed by Karstensens in close co-operation with Ruth AS to meet the customer’s requirements, with emphasis placed on optimised working conditions and safety, as well as comfort on board for the crew.
