The owners of one of the new trawlers being built to update the New Zealand trawler fleet’s capacity have gone to Danish company Carsoe for the multi-species factory deck.
The 79-metre, 15.50-metre beam Voyager is being built at the Nodosa shipyard in Spain and will be the largest vessel in the company’s fleet when it is delivered in late 2026.
The factory deck spec is for a production layout with a high level of automation, minimising the need for manual labour, and ensuring better working conditions for the crew with minimal heavy lifting. The catch has to be quickly processed and frozen on board, ready for distribution as fillets and HG.
‘Automation makes the processing job easier for the crew,’ said Warren Harris, Project Manager for Talley’s newbuild.
‘When we compared the Carsoe design with others, we saw that Carsoe’s design flowed a lot better. Also, their communication regarding the specifications and our requirements has been second to none.’
Carsoe sales manager Trond Bjørnøy is looking forward to the collaboration.
‘We are very excited to embark on a new partnership with Talley’s and to contribute to renewing their fleet of fishing vessels with a modern factory utilizing the catch efficiently,’ he said.
Multispecies production
The factory is designed to ensure streamlined processing across a wide variety of species are caught, and the factory is optimised to handle and process each product and species efficiently, focusing on the shortest possible processing time from deck to freezer, to maintain the freshness of the fish.
The processed fresh catch is frozen in a high-capacity automatic plate freezer with a short freezing time and a continuous flow of products.
With various species and a high-quality catch, efficient freezing is essential in the onboard factory.
The automatic horizontal plate freezer, with a capacity of up to 80 tonnes per day, ensures frozen at sea products of optimal quality. Automation in plate freezing provides countless benefits for the production process.
‘This is a big help in achieving steady good production and reduces heavy lifting work for the crew,’ Warren Harris explained.
With an automatic, continuous freezing process, manual handling is eliminated, resulting in increased production rates. The infeed and outfeed of the freezer are automated, maximizing capacity and simplifying maintenance procedures.
Frozen products are routed to automatic palletising with an integrated stretch wrapper. This palletising module is ideal for factory trawlers because the stretch film is added during palletising, allowing for quick and efficient storage preparation. The layered wrapping provides additional stability and protection for the catch, ensuring safe storage during bad weather and heavy seas.
The contract with Talleys represents an entry to the Pacific Ocean market for Carsoe, which has a strong reputation for its systems in the northern hemisphere.
‘We may be new to these waters, but our years of processing knowledge and reliability are inherent in our business,’ said Carsoe’s group sales director Jeppe Christensen.
‘We are very proud to be the chosen partner by one of the oldest New Zealand fishing companies, Talley’s.’
