Longliner Stormur, which has been tied up in Reykjavík for more than a year, appears to be on the move as a buyer has been reported to have been found for the unique vessel with a chequered history.
The boat was built in 2005 in Newfoundland, and its owners went bust before the 25 metre overall by 9.20 metre beam boat could be finished, after which it remained for sale until Icelandic company Stormur Seafood bought it in 2015.
It was taken to Poland where the Alkor Shipyard lengthened it by an additional 23 metres and completed fitting out the diesel-electric longliner with its Loran-style hauling system, modelled on the arrangement developed for Norwegian longliner Loran.
Stormur arrived in Iceland in December 2017, but by then there had been some changes at Stormur Seafood as owner Steindór Sigurgeirsson decided to get out of the business, sold the company’s quotas and put the new longliner up for sale.
One of the most sophisticated fishing vessels of its kind under the Icelandic flag, Stormur has remained at the quayside in Reykjavík since arriving from Poland and has never been fishing. It has diesel-electric propulsion powered by a bank of three gensets with an automatic energy management system that ensures economic running.
A full report on Stormur can be found in the December 2017 issue of Hook & Net.
