Hans J Marter

25 August, 2009

THE CREW of Shetland’s newest pelagic trawler hope to leave for the fishing grounds today (Tuesday) to start catching their annual herring quota.

The Serene arrived in her home port of Symbister, in Whalsay, on Sunday afternoon where a crowd of more than 100 people welcomed the 71.6 metre vessel and her crew of 12.

The new vessel is the sixth to carry that name over more than 50 years under skipper Bobby Polson and his father Mackie.

Designed by Vik-Sandvik AS and built by West Contractors AS, of Olensvag in Norway, the boat breaks new ground for the pelagic industry in the UK, being the first to pump fish over the stern.

She is also one deck higher than other pelagic trawlers, giving her extra stability and speed.

After successful sea trials and the naming ceremony in Norway the previous weekend, skipper Polson had to endure a frustrating delay at the shipyard before leaving for Shetland last Saturday night due to a number of technical problems.

Engineers from Norway were yesterday (Monday) on their way to Shetland to fix a final issue in one of the vessel’s two freezing compartment.

But Mr Polson said that “teething problems” were normal when launching a new boat.

“As soon as we get our gear on board and the problem in the freezing system is fixed, we are straight off to the herring.

“We have 2,000 tonnes to catch. After that we will do the Atlanto-Scandian herring, and then the mackerel fisheries starts in October,” he said.

The Serene came into Lerwick yesterday morning to take her net on board, before heading for Victoria Pier in the centre of town as is customary for a new Shetland boat.

It took three years to reach this point from selling the previous vessel, planning for a new one and then getting her built.

But despite the long timescale, Mr Polson said he is very pleased with how things had gone, particularly since ordering a vessel the same size today would have cost him and the other six shareholders of the Serene Fishing Company significantly more.

“We were lucky as we got a very good price for the new build. If you were going to build this boat today you would be speaking about £10 million more.

“We signed the contract three years ago – we got some hiccups with the planning and the hull building, so it took a peerie start longer than expected.”

Her hull was completed in Turkey at the turn of the year and then towed to Norway to be fitted out. It took the Westcon five months to complete the job.

Mr Polson said investments such as this were vitally important for the community of Whalsay as islanders were completely dependent on the fishing industry.

“We have taken on twice the debt of any previous boat, but we come from a small island that is completely dependent on fishing.

“We have a young crew and hopefully we have a government that will look more positively at the fishing industry and the men that are willing to work in it.

“Looking at this boat people thing we are millionaires, but that is a complete load of bollocks. We all have mortgages and it will take many, many years to pay the debts on this boat off,” he said.

The main change to previous vessels is the fact that the catch will be pumped onboard over the stern rather than over the side as has always been done before.

Mr Polson said the technique makes the operation safer for the crew. They have found a better way of pumping the fish into the tanks which should help the quality and the price for their catch.

“The Serene is one deck higher and we are pumping out stern this time, so we don’t need to lie broadside when we are taking the fish aboard. The main reason for that is crew safety – it will hopefully make life that wee bit easier.

“She has 2.6 metres of beam more, which is a lot, but the tank capacity at 2,000 tonnes is the same. She could have held 2,400 to 2,500 cubic metre but we don’t need that. We are all now rigidly sticking to the quota and 2,000 cubic metres is plenty,” he said

Serene is equipped with the latest electronic equipment from Furuno, Scanmar, Simrad and Sailor, supplied, installed and commissioned by local firm H. Williamson & Sons Ltd.

Powered with a MaK 12V32 6,000kW engine, Serene reaches a top speed of 18 knots.

Mr Polson said that with a cruising speed of between 10 and 14 knots, his new vessel was burning a lot less fuel.

The first Serene bought by Mr Polson’s father in 1954 was a wooden hulled dual purpose herring drifter/whitefish seine netter.

She was replaced with larger and more modern vessels in 1969, 1987, 1996 and 1998 when the previous Serene entered the local fleet. She was sold to Iceland in 2006 and renamed Margret EA-710, after which Bobby Polson and partners ordered the latest Serene.