VARD Lands $41 Million Trawler Order

Illustration courtesy Vard

Shipbuilding Vard Holdings has announced it has secured a contract for the construction of a pelagic trawler for Shetland-based Research Fishing Company.

The contract value is approximately NOK 350 million ($41 million).

The 80 meter long trawler will be designed by Skipsteknisk in Ålesund, Norway in close cooperation with the ship owner. It will be designed as a modern pelagic trawler equipped with entirely electrically powered winches to reduce oil spills and pollution and the world’s first electrically operated fish pump. Its main engine based on common rail technology, and a cooling and pumping system arranged for better and more efficient handling of fish.

Delivery is scheduled to take place in 3Q 2018 from the Vard Landgsten yard, where the trawler will be built, equipped and completed.

Research Fishing Company Ltd is a family-owned enterprise located in Lerwick on the Shetland Islands.

The contract announcement comes a day after VARD announced its 4Q and FY 2016 results, reporting a strongest order in three years thanks to ancillary services and diversification away from the sluggish offshore oil and gas market and into new markets including aquaculture, expedition cruises, and fisheries.

“We are grateful for the success we have seen in our diversification efforts, but we do not take our achievements for granted,” commented Roy Reite, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of VARD. “In 2017, we remain sharply focused on laying the path for new business development to keep activities at our yards stable. We are fine-tuning our organizational structure to support our new business aspirations, with the objective of maintaining VARD’s strong position as a provider of innovative, customized solutions to the global maritime industry.”

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