VESSEL REVIEW | Van Eyck – Beam and stern trawler for Belgian fishing family

In 2022, when the Savels family of the Belgian port city of Zeebrugge was looking for a new vessel to replace their 1981-built beam trawler, they selected Dutch shipbuilder Padmos to fulfill the requirement.

The newbuild trawler has been named Van Eyck, and it has since replaced a similarly named predecessor owned and skippered by Steven Savels and his sons Kenneth and Jason. Construction of the hull took place at Casco and Sectiebouw Rotterdam (CSR) while Padmos was responsible for the final outfitting at its Stellendam facilities.

The newer Van Eyck has a length of 39.95 metres, a beam of 8.5 metres, a draught of five metres, and an Anglo Belgian Corporation 662kW main engine.

The Savels originally intended to replace the first Van Eyck with another secondhand trawler. However, the family ultimately decided to order a newbuild with a projected operational life of at least 25 years upon realising that such a vessel would be more fuel-efficient than a secondhand one. Jason Savels said that reducing fuel consumption was an important factor in ensuring fresh fish is landed sustainably.

Unlike the earlier Van Eyck, which the Savels acquired secondhand over 25 years ago, the newer vessel is outfitted with twin-rig gear to enable it to undertake stern trawling for langoustine, plaice, sole, cuttlefish and squid in addition to beam trawling. The newbuild also boasts 12-metre beam trawls whereas the earlier vessel featured only nine-metre trawls.

Van Eyck will be operated primarily in the North and Irish Seas.