This is “Ecofive”
On the 16th of February 2022, the owners Bluewild, the shipyard Westcon and the designers at Ulstein Design & Solutions could put on their widest smiles. It was time to reveal a project that had been in the works for a long time.
"Ecofive" was launched in the owner's hometown of Ålesund and presented as one of the most exciting developments in fisheries in Norway in more than 20 years.
The stern trawler is to be delivered before Christmas this year, and those who know Westcon know that they deliver on time. They have proven that a number of times in the past, including during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Environment in focus
The vessel and the solutions on board will ensure environmentally friendly, gentle and efficient fishing, a safer working environment - and increased quota and resource utilisation.
The stern trawler is of the design type ULSTEIN FX101, designed by Ulstein Design & Solutions. It gets the characteristic X-BOW with which Ulstein has been very successful in recent years, including by winning Ship of The Year for “Bourbon Orca” in 2006.
A number of Norwegian technology and equipment suppliers are also engaged to make this innovative trawler a reality.
“Westcon is a good partner for us in Ulstein Design & Solutions. It is gratifying to see that we can once again deliver design and equipment to a Norwegian shipyard for the construction of an innovative vessel,” says Erwin Jager, fisheries sales manager at Ulstein Design & Solutions.
Ulstein supplies design and engineering, and an equipment package for the power system (generators, electric motors for propulsion including frequency converters, a complete battery system, switchboards and distribution solution, and control system for power and energy management). All systems are connected to the integrated automation system ULSTEIN IAS™ with cloud-based data collection via Blue Box.
The ship's name, "Ecofive", comes from the concept of eco-friendly-fishing vessel, and has been developed by the team at Bluewild over several years. It will contribute to more sustainable fishing by delivering solid improvements in the areas of environment, quality, safety, economy and society.
Opens for innovation
Since 2014, the team at Bluewild has put sustainability and innovation on the agenda in the Norwegian fishing industry.
Calculations and tests the shipping company has carried out in collaboration with ship designers and equipment suppliers show significant environmental benefits.
The ship will have a low average fuel consumption and emissions. Especially during trawling at low speed, they will be able to achieve a reduction of CO2 emissions of up to 40 percent, and a NOx reduction of up to 70 percent. There will also be zero emissions of residual raw materials from catches. With that, one can triple the amount of raw material delivery to land, all of which will be suitable for human consumption.
The shipping company has placed great emphasis on good fish welfare, and a high quality standard for the raw material. They achieve this through a handling system for the trawl that guides the fish into a catch reception in the vessel below the waterline. The fish are then taken alive by pipe transport to water-filled reception tanks, which reduce crushing injuries and stress for the fish. A wet reception in large tanks should provide good recovery and keep the fish alive for further processing.
Here, the team have been inspired by how live fish are handled in modern well boats and salmon slaughterhouses. Electro stunning should make each fish calm and pain-free, which in turn facilitates proper bleeding. The fish is then taken further through cooling pipes which give the fish a lower temperature, thus contributing to better soaking and faster freezing.
The quality must also be ensured by rapid freezing and low freezing temperature, which reduces cell bursting in the freezing process and during thawing.
Furthermore, the shipping company has placed great emphasis on ensuring the safety of the crew on board:
• The vessel has a backup solution for propulsion with a double set of propellers, several engines and batteries to play with.
• The new receiving system reduces manual work and exposure to damage when handling the tool.
• The hull design will contribute to fewer sudden movements of the vessel, and work on deck will be far safer as a result of the new deck design.
• With a separate wet zone, large amounts of water on factory decks are avoided and the risk of loss of vessel stability is reduced.
Equipment:
"Ecofive" is equipped with a main engine from Bergen Engines. The steering machinery comes from Kongsberg Maritime. Harbor unit and auxiliary engine come from Nogva Motorfabrikk. Brunvoll has supplied thrusters. Gear and propeller system are from Finnøy Gear & Propeller.
The factory on board comes from Skaginn 3X, while PE Bjørdal and Vèlfag ehf. have delivered various equipment to the factory. The refrigerated seawater plant is supplied by PTG Kuldeteknisk. Row coolers are from Hydroniq Coolers. The bilge pumps in the factory are from Xylem Water Solutions Norway. The fresh water generator is supplied by Alfa Laval Nordic. Pumps come from Allweiler.
Evotec has supplied winches, cranes, trawl forks and A-frames.
The fish processing equipment is supplied by Cflow. The osmosis system is from ENWA Water Technology AS.
The high-pressure washing system is supplied by HL Skjong AS. Starting air and working air compressors come from Sperre Air Power. Tank sounding and sensors are from AM Instrumentation.
Anchors come from Sotra Anchor & Chain. Navigation equipment and fish searching equipment are supplied by Vico AS and Florvaag.
Exhaust boiler and hot water boiler are supplied by Ulmatec Pyro. HVAC is supplied by Aeron AS. Toilets and sewage treatment system are from Jets Vacuum.
Doors for factories and freezer rooms come from DAN-Doors AS. External doors are supplied by Libra-Plast. The trawl blocks are from Møllerodden AS.
FO and LO filter system comes from Ditech. Bilge water separator comes from GEA Norway AS. UV for process water is from Norwegian Greentech.
Furnishing, as well as technical installation, is done by Vestnes Ocean. The windows in the wheelhouse come from Bohamet.
Life rafts are supplied by Viking Life-Saving Equipment Norway. MOB boat with associated davit comes from Mare Safety. Firefighting equipment is from Marioff Corporation.
The ICCP and anti-germ system are supplied by Cathwell. Incinerator is from TeamTec AS.
The electrical installation on board is done by Westcon Power & Automation. The forklifts on board are supplied by Scanlift Maskin AS.
The hull was built at Norse Celik in Turkey before being towed to Norway for completion at Westcon Yards Ølen.