MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Falklands' company expects its state of the art trawler F/V Falcon ready for the Loligo February 2021 season

The vessel was launched to the sea this week and will now undergo further completion works, leading to sea trials later in the year (Pic Fortuna Ltd)

F/V Falcon, the latest trawler from the Falkland Islands Fortuna fishing company was launched on Wednesday at the Nodosa Shipyard in Vigo, Spain. The vessel will now undergo further completion works, leading to sea trials later in the year, and ready to join the Falklands' fleet for the first Loligo season, commencing February 2021.

In early 2019, the Board of Fortuna Ltd approved the construction of a new trawler to join their current fleet of five trawlers. The vessel will be owned and operated by Fortuna Joint Venture Company - “Petrel Fishing Company Ltd”.

F/V Falcon will be registered in the Falkland Islands and construction of the vessel commenced in late February 2019 at the Nodosa Shipyard. In parallel to the vessel construction works, the companies HR team are busy recruiting people to crew this new vessel.

The vessel has been constructed to high modern standards, taking into account respect for the environment, product quality and crew safety, comfort and resting time.

The vessel will be the first of a phased update of the Fortuna fleet over the coming years.

Both the main and the auxiliary engines comply with the IMO Tier II regulations in terms of emissions, ensuring lower pollutant emissions and greater savings in fuel consumption (around 10%).

Ammonia coolant will be used which occurs naturally and is therefore more environmentally friendly. Silicone paint is being used for the hull, which is currently the most environmentally friendly on the market, whilst also providing fuel savings.

In order to mitigate the risk of seabird interactions, newly designed bird scaring devices will be fitted to the vessel, as well as offal tanks so that batch discarding can occur when fishing operations are not happening.

There is a high-tech incinerator that will reduce waste coming ashore.

Thanks to the design we will be able to reduce the number of people used on the deck. In addition, in most deck operations they will work under cover, making working conditions better, especially in inclement weather.

Three modern cranes will be available on board which, due to their location and power, allow for safer loading and unloading operations.

In order to reduce working hours as now required by current legislation, the crew will be increased to 70 people, which will allow for additional rest. Accommodation arrangements will be also improved with a greater number of two berth cabins.

For the design of the Factory, an ergonomic study has been carried out, improving and facilitating work in this area according to natural movement. Also, the size of the trays will be reduced from 25 to 12 kilos, which reduces the physical demands on crew.

In addition, loading and unloading of trays in the factory will be semi-automated, therefore reducing human intervention.

The importance of facilities for fisheries observers has also been recognized, with a dedicated cabin and a specific area has been designed in the factory for the convenience of the observers to perform their work.

Fortuna Ltd would like to thank again the Falkland Islands Department of Natural Resources, Pinsent Masons LLP and the Registrar of Ships for their assistance to date and ongoing help with this project.