SOUTHERN LABRADOR, NL – The Labrador Fishermen’s Union Shrimp Company Ltd (LFUSC) has a new shrimp trawler on the waters for 2018.
The Northern Osprey III, newly built in 2017, set sail for the company for the first time this February.
The vessel is currently fishing shrimp off the shores of Labrador in Shrimp Fishing Area 5.
The vessel belongs to MV Osprey Ltd, a company in which the LFUSC has a 50 per cent share. It is replacing the Northern Eagle in MV Osprey’s fleet. The Northern Eagle, built 1996, has been sold.
The Northern Osprey III was built at the Tersan shipyard in Turkey. It has a length of 80.25m and a beam of 17m, and was designed for the challenging ice conditions off Newfoundland and Labrador.
LFUSC general manager Gilbert Linstead says the company needed a new and bigger boat.
“The boat (The Northern Eagle) was getting older and it was smaller, it was making a lot of trips when there were larger boats out there,” he told the Northern Pen. “We decided now was the right time since we could probably get a good return for it and still get into a new one, for ourselves, while the stocks are fairly healthy.”
He expects the vessel to be able to process about 80-90 tonnes of shrimp per day, once it is “operating on all cylinders.” This will be an increase from the 60-65 tonnes he says the Northern Eagle processed per day.
Linstead believes it’ll take six to eight months to “work out the kinks” with the new boat.
He says it may take the crew some time to adapt to the new ship after 20 years working on the Northern Eagle.
“It’s a totally different boat, it’s a totally modern boat,” he said.
According to Linstead, it’s also a totally green machine – meaning there is no waste left at sea.
The vessel is arranged with high standard accommodation for 38 persons, which also includes facilities for the crew such as media/movie room, gymnasium and sauna.
It is also outfitted with a processing and freezing plant.
Linstead expects more positions will be added later.
The LFUSC is based in Labrador, where it operates five processing plants. It is locally owned by fishers from L’Anse au Clair to Cartwright.
