VESSEL REVIEW | Jan Maria – Nordbank Hochseefischerei’s newest trawler to operate in Far North Atlantic

Nordbank Hochseefischerei, a German subsidiary of Netherlands-based fishing company Parlevliet en Van der Plas (P&P), recently took delivery of a new factory trawler.

Jan Maria was designed by Norwegian naval architecture firm Skipsteknisk in compliance with DNV class rules. The trawler is the latest in a succession of P&P-owned vessels to bear the name, and this includes the first fishing vessel that the company acquired in the early 1950s.

The trawler has an LOA of 88.1 metres (289 feet), a beam of 18.3 metres (60 feet), a depth of 6.75 metres (22.1 feet), and accommodation for a 43-strong crew. Power is provided by a 7,000kW (9,000hp) main engine driving a 4,300mm controllable-pitch propeller to deliver a speed of 15 knots and to enable safe operation even in icy Arctic waters.

Also fitted are two Yanmar 6EY22ALW diesel generators, a Scania DI09M 100kW emergency generator, and Brunvoll side thrusters.

Fitted with automated catch handling systems

The vessel is outfitted with fully integrated onboard grading, filleting, fishmeal and fish oil plants, and automatic freezing systems for use with shrimp and fish species such as cod, saithe, herring, mackerel, sardines, pollock, and Greenland halibut. A maximum of 100 tonnes of catch including filleted products can be frozen on board each day.

The vessel is capable of triple trawling with Kongsberg Maritime EasyDrive trawl winches while the cargo holds have individual cooling elements and a total capacity of 2,850 cubic metres (101,000 cubic feet). The decks are made from steel and are painted in a specialised anti-skid coating to ensure greater safety during forklift operations.

A transport system is used to move palletised products from the processing deck to the cargo holds. The pallets will be individually wrapped before these are brought into the holds. Palletising ensures that products can be more easily offloaded in port and transported to onshore storage facilities.

Thanks to the high degree of automation, the entire fish factory can be operated by only five people per shift. Also, environment-friendly refrigerants are used as cooling and freezing elements in the holds to help further reduce the vessel’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Ample amenities for long voyages at higher latitudes

The crew spaces include a single and double cabins with en suite toilets, a mess, a galley, a lounge, a cinema, a fitness centre, a sauna, a laundry area, and a hospital. Maritime Montering was responsible for design work for the interior spaces.

In the wheelhouse are a radar and fish finding electronics supplied by Furuno. Beha-Hedo Industrier provided the galley facilities while Delitek installed a waste disposal system.

Jan Maria will be homeported in Bremerhaven, where operator Nordbank Hochseefischerei is also located. The vessel’s main area of operations encompasses the far northern Atlantic Ocean. Each fishing trip will last a maximum of six weeks.

The new trawler replaces Gerda Maria, which was built in 1990.