This year’s Scottish Skipper Expo is going to see a strong Danish presence, and the links between Scotland and the Danish port of Hirtshals run deep. This year Shetland pelagic vessel Zephyr will steam across to undergo a round of repairs and maintenance that’s expected to involve a number of companies in Hirtshals.
‘It’s not only large vessels such as Zephyr that come to Hirtshals to make use our service facilities, but also a variety of smaller whitefish trawlers and pelagic vessels. We’re hoping more will take advantage of what the Port of Hirtshals has to offer. This is not only in terms of service, repair, and maintenance, but also in landing catches here, and there are options for combining by a landing to the auction with a stopover for repairs and services,’ said Linn Indrestrand, head of fisheries and maritime services at the Port of Hirtshals.
The port’s prominent presence at the Scottish Skipper Expo this year underscores the close relationship with Scottish fishing vessel operators, and is expected to prepare the way to make it even closer. Zephyr’s owners are just one of the many UK and Northern European fishing companies that make regular use of the facilities Hirtshals has to offer, with services ranging from engine replacement or rebuilds to hulls and superstructure blasting and painting.
According to Finn Møller, director of Hirtshals Fish Auction, his participation in the exhibition is not so much to tempt UK operators to switch to landing in Denmark, but to make owners aware of the opportunities.
‘It’s more about getting British vessel owners to consider whether they might be able to save on expenses by landing catches for sale at Hirtshals Fish Auction when they come here for repairs, conversions, or engine changes. We believe we have very competitive prices, and there are already many fishing vessels from many Northern European countries finding it profitable to sell catches in Denmark,’ he said, commenting that many are fishing on grounds that are no further from Hirtshals than they are from a UK port.
‘They could find they get a better landing in Hirtshals, while burning less fuel per kilo landed. We’re open to all enquiries at the stand with with Hirtshals Port and Hirtshals Services Group,’ he said.
‘All the services a fishing vessel needs can be found here in Hirtshals,’ Linn Indrestrand said.
The Hirtshals Services Group is hosting a stand at the Scottish Skipper Expo in Aberdeen (8-9th May), and the group represents most of the marine-related businesses in Hirtshals. Anyone with a question to ask about what Hirtshals has to offer will get an answer at the Group’s stand, which is also hosting the Port of Hirtshals, Hirtshals Fish Auction and North Sea flume tank.
‘Members of Hirtshals Services Group have been exhibitors or otherwise present at Skipper Expo for many years. The experiences are good, and our return to Skipper Expo is due, of course, to the good response to our presence at this event,’ Linn Indrestrand said, adding that a new participant at the exhibition this year is the Hirtshals flume tank, which is now under a new management team that’s keen to make the facilities it offers more widely known. The tank is a long-established institution, able to carry out testing of fishing gears, hulls, aquaculture systems and more, and under a variety of current condition and simulated sea states.
Among the Danish companies taking part at the Scottish Skipper Expo this year are leading trawl door manufacturer Thyborøn Trawldoor, who supply both demersal and pelagic gear – and who have developed a range of controllable trawl doors for pelagic fisheries that have attracted attention aroudn the world.
The Danish presence also includes Orskov Yard, Hundested Propeller, the Port of Skagen, and Atlantic Shipping – Europe’s largest broker for fishing vessels. The Orskov Yard has in recent years become a leader in repairs and maintenance of larger fishing vessels, and has become a preferred choice for most larger Greenlandic and Canadian trawlers, while pelagic vessels from Norway have also become increasingly regular customers at the shipyard.
‘Of course, we hope that our participation in the Scottish Skipper Expo will bring us new customers among fishing boat owners throughout the North Atlantic,’ said Orskov Yard’s sales manager Jan Henry Sørensen.
