The Slippurin yard in the north of Iceland has been busy recently, and looks to remain that way into the new year.
FISK Seafood’s factory trawler Arnar is at the quayside, as is Thorfish’s factory trawler Hrafn Sveinbjarnarson, while Vinnslustöðin’s pelagic vessel Sighvatur Bjarnason has been on the slipway to be prepared for the coming capelin season.
Arnar has had the bearings in its winches renewed, had a paint job from top to bottom, the shaft pulled and the propeller hub overhauled, and work has been carried out on the factory deck with new equipment fitted. Changes have also been made to the refrigeration system, with the yard’s teams working alongside staff from refrigeration specialist Kælismiðjan Frost – who will also be overhauling Hrafn Sveinbjarnarson’s refrigeration system and constructing a new space for the fridge systems.
‘The job list is good at the moment and the yard’s size means that we can generally add to this if needed,’ said Sveinbjörn Pálsson, the yard’s recently appointed manager of ship services.
‘We are already booking in for next year, and we are experiencing longer delivery times for supplies so it’s important to organise these things well in advance and to keep maintenance in mind for the coming months. Pelagic operators are now busy preparing for a big capelin season and we are assisting companies with this. This is a huge boost for these companies and for everyone involved in providing services to the fishing industry.’
