One of the two new fishing vessels for Faroese company Varðin has been launched at the Stocznia Wisła shipyard in Gdansk this week, and is now on its way to the MEST yard in the Faroes for outfitting. Completion and handover are expected to take place next summer.
The 44.15-metre, 11.60-metre beam Dunga Jákup gets a 2611hp Wartsila-25 main engine, selected for its low fuel consumption and future-proof technology, opening opportunities to switch to green fuels later on.
Equipment on board has been developed in close cooperation between MEST and Varðin with a focus on working conditions, safety and efficiency. A modern production line with a freezing capacity of 40 tonnes per day will be installed on board.
The name Dunga Jákup was chosen in honour of the late Jákup Jacobsen, who together with Tummas Thomsen founded Varðin in 1985. Jákup Jacobsen passed away in December last year, and naming of the vessel after him serves as a significant recognition of his lifelong importance to Faroese fishing.
Dunga Jákup replaces Rankin, which Varðin sold in 2023, and will also be the second newbuilding in the company’s fleet expansion – alongside Sjúrður Tollaksson, which is currently under construction at Karstensen.
For Varðin it’s a source of satisfaction that the new vessel is to be completed in the Faroe Islands.
‘MEST has previously built trawlers and has recently completed the marine research vessel Jákup Sverri – which is why we chose MEST to be responsible for the construction of our new freezer trawler,’ explains Varðin director Bogi Jacobsen.
The contract between Varðin and MEST was signed earlier this year and Dunga Jákup will be outfitted at MEST’s Skála yard into an advanced freezer vessel capable of catching and processing demersal species.
‘This is a big day for us at MEST. The fact that we in the Faroe Islands have the opportunity to preserve shipbuilding as a craft is important to us as a nation. And we are especially pleased that we can compete with our neighboring countries,’ commented the yard’s director Mouritz Mohr, as Dunga Jákup’s hull was prepared for the ten-day tow from the yard in Poland to the Faroe Islands.
On arrival at Skála, work starts on extensive outfitting, including installation of the main engine, the factory deck, accommodation and other systems on board.
