Text and photos: David Linkie

19 February, 2008

THE SHETLAND whitefish fleet was further strengthened this week by the arrival of the seine netter Tranquility LK 63.

Bought from Buckie as the Surina BCK 95 by the Tranquility Fishing Company Ltd., the 24m wooden hulled seiner represents another highly encouraging and forward looking addition to the Shetland fleet.

Skippered by Stuart Anderson of Whalsay, Tranquility is of particular significance in that the seine netter will be fished by a young crew with a long career at sea ahead of them, supported by experienced families.

In addition to skipper Anderson, Tranquility is owned by a Shetland partnership that includes Bobby Polson and David Shearer, skipper and engineer of the midwater trawler Serene, in addition to their sons Bobby Polson Jnr. and James Shearer, and LHD Ltd.

Tranquility’s registration number is the same as that of the first Serene, a 70ft dual purpose herring drifter/seiner built by Tommy Summers of Fraserburgh in 1955 for Bobby Polson's dad Mackie Polson. The same number was later used on the Scalloway seiner Harmony (decommissioned in 2002) the skipper of which, Leslie Tait, will spend time at sea on Tranquility to pass on his experience to the young crew.

Expected to fish weekly from Whalsay and Lerwick, Tranquility is the third seine netter and the fifth whitefish boat to join Shetland's fleet in the last twelve months, following in the wake of Radiant Star, Prevail, Copious, Devotion and Quiet Waters. Tranquility is powered by a 500kW Cat 3412 main engine.

Tranquility was built by Jones of Buckie in 1981 as the seiner Prestige INS 305 for Hopeman skipper James MacPherson. On being bought by Donald Anderson of Peterhead, the boat was renamed Glenugie PD 347. When the order for the steel hulled Glenugie was placed in 1999, her predecessor was renamed Brighter Dawn LK 154 by John Anderson of Scalloway. The boat returned to her place of origin in 2002 on being bought by Buckie skipper George Smith to replace the decommissioned Surina BCK 93, built by Jones in 1970 as Lothian Rose LH 38.