Modern Jonge Johannes is already on the water. Launching a partially equipped twin-rigger trawler took place on Monday in the Safe shipyard in Gdańsk. The vessel was ordered by Damen Maaskant Shipyards Stellendam for the Dutch fishing company Ekofish Group.

Two floating cranes (Conrad Consul and Maja) were used to launch the trawler. The vessel was firstly pushed onto the pontoon barque. Then the two cranes lifted it and lowered on the water. Conrad Consul is the largest floating crane in Poland. Its owner is the Gdańsk Marine Projects shipyard. The crane is 44.82 m long, 21 m wide and has 2 m draft. Its lateral height is 3.7 m and the maximum lifting capacity is 400 tons. Maja on the other hand belongs to the “Polskie Ratownictwo Okrętowe“. This floating crane is 55.49 m long, 25.02 m wide and has 2.85 m draft. Its arm rotates by 360 °, the main hook has a lifting capacity of 330 tons, and for the auxiliary hook it is 100 tons.

A revolutionary design

The Jonge Johannes trawler with construction number NB 626 is 32 m long and 9.6 m wide. The vessel is built under the supervision of the Bureau Veritas classification society. The technical project was developed by the Dutch design office Vripack, the working documentation and the design was done by Safe shipyard. The final ship's equipment is the responsibility of the Dutch Damen Maaskant Shipyards Stellendam.

The design and equipment of the ship are in line with the principles of sustainable fishing, which is major focus for the Ekofish Group. They also reflect the multidisciplinary approach to shipbuilding – EG used the experience of the Safe shipyard, Damen Maaskant Shipyards Stellendam and the Vripack design office for construction of this vessel. This is how a hybrid unit with diesel-electric drive was created. It will have three identical Caterpillar generator sets with a diesel engine connected to a battery energy management system. The trawler will be able to use batteries both in  short-term tasks at sea and during stops in ports, which will reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. This is truly innovative solution in the fishing industry.

This is the second partially equipped trawler built by the Safe shipyard for the Ekofish Group. The launch of the first unit in the series (NB 623) took place in May this year. The third twin trawler with the construction number NB 628 is also being built at the Safe shipyard in Gdansk, under the supervision of Lloyd's Register.

In addition to innovative trawlers, the Safe shipyard is also building a fully equipped fishing vessel. The contract for its construction was signed on December 16 last year. The order has been placed by the Norwegian company Granli Fiskeri AS. The vessel has received the Safe 1 construction shipment number.

Safe Co LTD was founded in 1995. The company operates actively in Poland and abroad, mainly in France and Germany. It deals with construction of ships, steel bridge structures as well as structures for the offshore, chemical and petrochemical industries.

Ekofish Group is a family-owned company whose history goes back more than a century. The shipowner places a strong emphasis on sustainable fishing to protect the resources of the seas and oceans. In 2009, the Ekofish Group was the first company in Europe to obtain the MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) for sustainable fishing of flatfish.