New Zealand fishing company Sealord recently announced an order for the country’s largest and most sophisticated new fishing vessel to be built since the mid-1990s and the order for the deck equipment has gone to Norwegian company Rapp Marine Group.
‘It is with pride and pleasure that again we are announcing a new contract for delivery of electric deck machinery, this time for New Zealand’s first new deepwater fishing vessel in 20 years,’ said a delighted Tor Idar Øye, VP Sales at Rapp Marine Group.
Sealord’s order is for an 82.90 metre factory vessel to be built at Simek in Norway to a Skipsteknisk ST-118 design. The as yet unnamed trawler is expected to be able to handle 20,000 tonnes of fish annually in a variety of production modes and will have a highly sophisticated and efficient factory deck. Much of the equipment on board will be sourced in Norway, including the Bergen diesel main engine and Scana Volda reduction gear and propeller, along with the Rapp Marine winches.
Sealord has opted for electric winches, with each of the three trawl winches powered by four motors and managed by a Rapp control system. Rapp Marine is supplying the new Sealord vessel with a comprehensive deck machinery package, supported by Rapp Marine’s service agreement with service providers in New Zealand.
‘Sealord is a fishing company with extensive experience and is one of the biggest participants in fishing and seafood in the southern hemisphere. They require high standards from Rapp Marine Group as their chosen supplier,’ Tor Idar Øye said.
‘Fishing in the waters around New Zealand demands tailor-made equipment that meets the requirements for deep sea fishing, he says.
‘Reliability and service availability are some of the key factors that have been strongly emphasised, but perhaps the most important has been to find solutions that satisfy the company’s needs – such as main winches with an extremely high speed, efficiency and dynamics.’
