A NORWEGIAN fishing company has ordered a new super fuel saving trawler/purse seiner which should go some way towards combating the recent huge rise in oil prices.
The company Liegruppen AS has placed the order for the 64 foot long vessel with the Polish company Wartsila, although the hull is being built in Lithuania. It is expected to be ready for fishing by the summer of 2012. It has not yet been decided where it will be fitted out. Compared to other vessels, the fuel savings could be as high as 20 per cent on an average fishing trip.
Liegruppen said the vessel is designed for the lowest possible fuel consumption, making it far cheaper to operate as well as reducing harmful emissions.
Liegruppen AS is a management company that operates a number of companies in various sectors including fishing, real estate, services and trade.
The group has fished in Norwegian and international waters for more than 100 years and is a strong believer in innovation when it comes to designing fishing vessels and in fishing techniques.
One of their latest vessels, the Libas, is in continuous contact with Norway's Institute of Marine Research, sending back constant information about the catch and fishing conditions.
Wartsila have a good track record when it comes to advanced trawler design and the new vessel will have an advanced engine. And Rolls Royce will supply a so-called hybrid shaft generator (HSG) to the Liegruppen's next class of fishing vessels, the first of its kind in the Norwegian fishing fleet. The HSG ensures that power is only used when needed.
The fishing company's chief executive Lars Olav Lie calculates that the new engine will save about 500,000 litres of fuel oil a year - 20 percent of total consumption - and emit 1, 300 tons less carbon dioxide than a conventional trawler..
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