State-of-the-Art 'Aalskere' K. 373 a fantastic addition to Scottish fleet

The new state-of-the-art ‘Aalskere’ K 373 set for the Scottish fleet under trials at Thyboron in Denmark. Photo: Kynde & Toft A/S

The state-of-the-art ‘Aalskere’ K 373, the latest addition to the Scottish whitefish trawling fleet, has arrived in her home port of Kirkwall in the Orkney Islands.

Brand-new and fresh from Kynde & Toft AS in Thyboron, Denmark, the ‘Aalskere’ follows what has now become an instantly recognisable design from expert draughtsman Ove Kristensen from Vesvaerftet.

With the wheelhouse positioned forward, bulbous-bow and transom-stern, the whitefish trawler looks every part the highly-sophisticated modern fishing vessel.

At 35.2 metres length overall and with a gross tonnage of 499 tonnes, the ‘Aalskere’ carries a 10.5 metre beam and a 6 metre draught.

The hull was manufactured at Stal-Rem SA (Shipyard) in Gdańsk, Poland before being towed to Thyboron in Denmark where the vessel was fitted-out by Kynde & Toft AS.

The new ‘Aalskere’ under sea trials in Thyboron. Photos: Kynde & Toft

The new ‘Aalskere’ is owned by partners Iain Harcus, his wife Elizabeth, Iain’s father John Harcus and the Don Fishing Company, Peterhead.

The boat will be skippered by Iain and William Brown who worked the previous ‘Aalskere’. That boat has now been renamed the ‘Gemma Jane’ K184.

Ian Harcus and his father, John, bought into the previous ‘Aalskere’ in 2000, when she was known as ‘Vandal’ LK 337. At that time she was owned by Duncan Cumming along with his sons, Angus and Trevor, from the Shetland Islands.

After Duncan and Angus Cumming sold their shares in 2000, Trevor Cumming kept his interest in the Aalskere and successfully co-skippered the 34 metre 532 tonne trawler with Iain Harcus for 15 years.

In 2015, Trevor sold his share of the boat to Ian and the Don Fishing Company. After Trevor left, William Brown took over as alternate skipper.

Last year the ‘Aalskere’ became a national TV star on BBC 2’s ‘ Fish Town’ documentary which followed the lives of those involved in the fishing industry around the UK.

Like the previous ‘Aalskere’, the new boat is rigged for stern trawling and will be targeting whitefish like Haddock, Pollock (Saithe), Monkfish, Whiting, Hake and Ling which are all listed as sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).

WHEELHOUSE – NAVIGATION, COMMUNICATION & FISH FINDING EQUIPMENT

In the wheelhouse the electronic navigation, communication and fish finding equipment was supplied by Woodsons of Aberdeen & Furuno UK

The fish finding equipment was supplied by Woodsons Marine Electronics of Aberdeen.

Radio-Telephones – 1 Sailor 6310/2 150W GMDSS MF/HF SSB, 2 Sailor 6210 VHF, 1 Sailor 6222 Class A VHF/DSC, 1 Jotron TR-8000

AIS GPS/GPS Gyro – 2 Sailor 6570 DGNSS Navigator, 1 Simrad RGC50 Gyro, 1 JRC JLR-21 Satellite Compass c/w

Echo-Sounder – 1 Kaijo KSE310 38Khz split beam fish sizing echosounder , 1 SeapiX 150Khz 3D sonar system, 1 JRC JFC 180BB Black box sounder/Multi frequency

Navigation – 2 Fishingwin V9 plotting system Radar, 1 JRC JMA-5410-6XBB radar Wind sensor, 1 Ultrasonic wind speed and direction sensor Autopilot, 1 Navitron NT921G autopilot system

Talk-Back – 1 Phontech 3102 20 way system talkback

CCTV – 1 CCTV System c/w 24 cameras, 1 Underwater Prop cam, Satellite television, 1 e-SEA 80 Satellite TV system

Satellite Communications – 1 eSEA 60Ka INTERNET communications system, 1 LT-3100 Iridium communications System

Emergency – 1 Jotron TRON 60GPS Float Free EPIRB with GPS, 1 TRON SART20, 2 Entel HT649 GMDSS Hand Held VHF, 1 JRC NCR333 Navtex receiver/Type approved c/w

Monitors and Matrix control system – 1 Quad View Video Wall with integrated trackball control system, 3 55” 4K LCD Bridge monitors Fwd monitors upper console: 7 Neovo X24 monitor Aft monitors: 6 Neovo X19, with glass front.

The equipment installed includes a Seapix 3D multibeam sonar for mapping and detection of fish in real time in 3D on seafloor. The Seapix provides high resolution bottom lock fish detection of marks tight to the seafloor. Fish mark images are displayed in real time across 3 screens : 3D and 2D seafloor mapping with fish marks overlaid, Echosounder with triple beam view and bottom lock and Fish classification utilising a choice of four 120 degree beam sonar swaths.

Kaijo KSE310 38Khz split beam echosounder. Since its introduction 6 years ago the KSE310 has proven its performance and accuracy on fish sizing and detection of marks tight to the bottom.

Quad View Video wall with integrated Trackball control:

10 screens integrated with the ability to choose which source goes to which monitor, single cursor moves seamlessly between all screens connected to the video wall including the 3 main 55” and upper console monitors to take control of any source within the video wall, an unlimited number of presets including for Steaming, Fishing and in port set by skipper, full screen brilliance control across all screens. Full control via a fixed touch screen display and iPad.

Furuno UK supplied:

Furuno Far22x8 black box radar: 25kw kw Ace automatic clutter elimination, Fast Target Tracking (ARPA 100) AIS 350, brushless motors, integrated into the Time Zero Plotter.

The Time Zero TZ Professional v4 is a big thing here on the ‘Aalskere’. The display gives a fully loaded professional fishing plotter and integration into a Furuno solid state, state of the art radar.

Wassp F3i (fishing version) multi beam sonar – system for seabed mapping now with chirp technology provides bathymetry information including sounder image, backscatter (hardness) and fish target overlay.

ENGINE ROOM, PROPULSION & STEERING SYSTEM

The engine room on the new ‘Aalskere is a large and spacious area consisting of one main engine and three auxiliary engines.

The main engine is an ABC 6DZC which is a 6-cylinder inline engine with a power range of 745 kWm (1,000 HP) (continuous rating) which delivers a nominal engine speed of a maximum of 1,000 rpm. The engine has a direct-fuel injection, is turbocharged and air-cooled with a fuel flexibility.

The main engine is coupled to a Hundested Propeller A/S CPGD280 gearbox and VP12 propeller system. The gearbox has a ratio of 8,36:1 and 3 PTO´s. The diameter of the propeller is 3380 mm. Fitted in a nozzle.

Hundested Propeller A/S are a Danish based company who design, manufacture and service CP (controllable pitch) propeller systems, gearboxes and thrusters. All manufacturing is done in Hundested, Denmark.

The bow and stern thruster was also supplied by Hundested Propeller AS.

The 3 pcs auxiliary gensets consist of one pcs. Cummins 6BT5.9-DM & Stamford alternator built into an enclosure, and two Cummins QSB7-DM engines with Stamford alternators.

The 3 pcs. auxiliary gensets have been supplied by Granly Diesel A/S (Cummins Distributor Denmark) from Esbjerg, Denmark.

The diesel fuel tanks have a capacity of 80m³.

The water pumps fitted on board the ‘Aalskere’ are West Marine pumps.

The steering gear was supplied by AS:Scan / Scan Steering another marine engineering company based in Denmark.

DECK MACHINERY & EQUIPMENT

Kynde & Toft manufactured and fitted the two KT-2017-178-01 trawl winches and the KT 2017-78-02 Net Drums, along with the gilsen winch on board the ‘Aalskere’.

The landing crane was supplied by EK Marine of Killybegs, Ireland.

The fish washer system was supplied by BOAtech who are another Danish company.

FISH HOLD & REFRIGERATION SYSTEM

The refrigeration system in the +2,500 box hold was supplied by NORDKØL APS of Hanstholms in Denmark. The system consists of:

2 x Nordkøl/Buus marine model ice makers, with a capacity of 4500kg/24 hour, each on fresh water.

1 x Nordkøl brine fish hold cooling system, divided in 3 sections with the possibility to control the temperature separately, also with floor cooling.

1 x Nordkøl freezer and cooling storage for supplies.

Kynde & Toft A/S

Kynde & Toft A/S was established in 1958 and is located in Thyboron, Denmark.

Kynde & Toft A/S has a total area of approx. 3000 m² comprising workshops, warehouse and office facilities. Kynde & Toft A/S is a Limited company, with one owner.

On the completion work on the ‘Aalskere’, Kynde & Toft manufactured and fitted all the winches and hydraulic installations, along with the engine, gearbox, shaft alignment and propeller installation. They also completed all mechanical work and steel work.

Kynde & Toft A/S is one of Denmark’s most popular shipyards providing building projects, metal fabrication and hydraulic marine machinery throughout the entire fleet.