Blue North to christen game-changing longliner

SEPTEMBER 9, 2016 — Today, Seattle, WA, headquartered Blue North, christened the F/V Blue North, one of the world’s most advanced, innovative fishing longliners.

Built by Dakota Creek Industries Inc. at its Anacortes, WA, shipyard, the F/V Blue North has been thoughtfully designed with new technologies to improve the quality of harvested seafood and working conditions for fishermen.

Specifically developed for the Alaska cod hook-and-line fishery it is a 58.35 m LOA x 12.8 m beam longliner built to a new ST 155L by Norway’s Skipsteknisk AS specially designed for the hauling of long line through a moon pool in the center line.

The vessel is built with a heavily weighted box keel design, to keep weight low, and an anti-roll tank to provide an extremely stable working platform.

Unique features of the F/V Blue North reduce its environmental impact. All water and waste on the vessel is captured and treated, and nothing is left behind to contaminate the ocean.

A state-of-the-art engine-cooling and heat recovery system recycles water used to cool the ship’s engines, and repurposes the captured heat for creating potable water, creating hot water and heating the ship. These features mean less fuel is required to heat the vessel and no waste water is put back in the ocean.

Engine power is monitored by a smart grid that detects electrical loads and appropriately distributes energy for maximum efficiency.

The new vessel is powered by a Siemens Bluedrive diesel-electric propulsion (DEP) system, that uses two Caterpillar C32 engines and one Cat C18 driving diesel generators to generate power to directly turn a twin Z-drive dual-azimuth propulsion system, while also powering the processing plant, freezers, lighting, heating and marine electronics.

“Blue North is dedicated to sustainable practices, and we spared no expense when it comes to the features we included on the F/V Blue North that reduce environmental impact,” says Kenny Down, President and CEO at Blue North. “Not only are these practices more cost-effective, we believe that protecting our resources and environment is critical to the planet and the fishing industry.”

In addition to its new ecologically sound features, the vessel has been designed to improve working conditions for the crew. All fishing gear is inside and hauled through the moon pool, so fishermen are no longer exposed to unpredictable weather and associated risks of fishing in the Bering Sea. Elevator and conveyer systems reduce the work of loading and unloading ship supplies and seafood products.

Auto freezers eliminate manual loading and unloading of freezer trays.

Staterooms are a mixture of private and double rooms, with a private lavatory in each. Workers sharing staterooms are scheduled for different shifts, so that each can rest privately in the room when off duty.

Humane harvesting: A hook-and-line fishing system ensures one fish is handled at a time, and fish on the lines are pulled into the moon pool at the center of the boat. Fish are only out of water for a few seconds before being stunned, processed and frozen on board. Hooks are removed after stunning to reduce stress to the fish.