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Between February and March of this year, three technicians of Ibercisa Deck Machinery went aboard “America’s Finest”, the new jewel in the crown of the Alaska fleet, with the objective of adjusting and optimising the performance of the trawl winches that the Galician multinational supplied to the American shipowner Fishermen’s Finest’s new boat. This is their experience on the waters of the Bering Sea. Article published at Industrias Pesqueras fishing magazine. 

“This is more than just commissioning”, says Javier Díaz Vizcaya, an engineer in the department of Technology & Solutions at Ibercisa Deck Machinery. Javier is a technician at the Galician deck machinery company, which this year celebrates 50 years in business, and is placed at the disposal of shipowners all over the world to optimise the performance of the winches that are installed on their new ships. Or better said, one of Ibercisa’s “Skipper’s Mates”, the new professional post created by the company to assist the captains and crew in the most efficient use of the new technological solutions of their catalogue. In this case, electrically driven winches with energy regeneration. 

Javier Díaz, with his colleagues Víctor Carpintero and Óscar Piñeiro, were Ibercisa’s technicians charged with the onshore optimisation of the supply to shipowner Fishermen’s Finest for its “America’s Finest”, the 79.80 metre “eco trawler“ constructed by Dakota Creek Industries in Anacortes – Washington state – based in the main fishing port for fresh fish in the United States: Dutch Harbor, on Unalaska Island, archipelago of the Aleutians (Alaska). In 2015 this terminal shifted 353,000 tonnes of fish, with a value of $474 million at first sale. 

That’s where the Ibercisa team went. “Our work consisted of assisting the fishing and the crew. We did the training, the necessary adjustments and we saw the work that the boat does”, explains Díaz. 

The fine-tuning of the machines took place in October 2018. That was when they did the sea trials, which lasted for two days. That was the usual service at the time, and later assistance was carried out remotely. However, now the Ibercisa engineers embark “as an extra member of the crew”, indicates Víctor Carpintero, who was with Javier Díaz for the first two embarkations. In total, 50 days aboard collaborating with the captain and crew of “America’s Finest” to achieve maximum efficiency in fishing yellowtail and Alaska pollock. 

The presence of the Ibercisa engineers on board was a direct request of the boat’s captain. “He preferred it like that, he felt safer. For him the equipment supplied by Ibercisa was totally new, because he was accustomed to older and less sophisticated winches, the same as the crew”, says Javier Díaz. “The captain felt more comfortable having somebody to answer operational doubts, so that the maintenance people, chiefs of machinery, etc., knew what kind of work they had to do to avoid problems during the fishing operation”, he explains. The Ibercisa engineers have embarked on fishing grounds all over the world. The Falklands, Namibia, the North Sea, Russia or NAFO. But never for such a prolonged stay, such as in Alaska. 

Onboard, the “Skipper’s Mates” almost live the life of “a normal sailor”. “We had our own bunk. And we were always on the bridge with the captain, whenever they were fishing”, says Díaz. The main activity happened during the 12-hour watch of the captain. The following 12 hours, resting, they were in direct communication with the second captain by means of an intercom. In emergencies, they were present. 24 hours of uninterrupted watch. 

“Although every boat seems the same, they all have their own way of fishing. The crew has a way of working and we try to adapt our equipment to their style”, according to Javier Díaz. In this case the adaptations were simple. The transition from hydraulic winches to the new, electrically driven ones, with which “America’s Finest” was equipped, didn’t cause any great problem. “The crew was very well trained. On other boats the situation can be different, but it always works out in the end”, explains the Galician company’s technician. Adapting to a new technology– as in other areas of the profession or of the day to day life of the crews- is a question of time. 

The length of the net; the speed and course of the boat during the trawl; the hoisting and turning of the cod-end affect the catch of a deep-sea fishing vessel. It is the wisdom and experience of the captain that determines the operation, the method used. For this, the work of the engineers consists of achieving the perfect fusion between the captain’s way of working and the possibilities that the new technologies offer. All aligned to achieve more and better fishing.

The changes between the first and second embarkations were evident. “The use was being optimised and the catches were improving”, compared to the first weeks of a boat on which everything was new after the owner bet on introducing the most sustainable and efficient technology on the market at the time of construction. “We can say that when we came back the winches were still at the optimum level, to the captain’s preferences. In fact, they hadn’t stopped fishing since we left”, says Díaz. 

A SERVICE THAT GOES FURTHER

Since his experience, Javier Díaz sees that this type of onboard assistance service “goes further and becomes ever more important”. The reason is clear: “learning to manage the new technology is key. You can have all of the technology in the world onboard, but if you don’t know how to use it, you won’t achieve anything”, explains the Ibercisa engineer. “Eventually, it’s all about control”, he says. 

At the same time, being able to experiment in person with the functioning of the winches means a high level of learning for the engineers. “It’s positive to go aboard, so we can apply what we’ve learned working from the office. It’s fundamental for us to really know the operation and how the captain works to know how to make the adjustments and what kind of problems can happen”, he explains. It is also fundamental in case the shipowner asks for a new set of winches for another boat. Part of the work would already be done. But not all. “Even between two boats of the same shipowner, there would definitely be changes in configuration”, he says. It is the personal mark of the captain. 

Centre of attention at the docks of Dutch Harbor 

The debut of “America’s Finest” in the fishing grounds of the Bering Sea didn’t go as planned for Fishermen’s Finest. The boat, a design from Norwegian ship designers Skipsteknisk (ST-116XL) should have got started at the beginning 2017, but its activity has been delayed until this year thanks to legal problems. After the application of the Jones Act by the American government, a law from the year 1920, the boat wasn’t legal. It hadn’t complied with the requisite of not exceeding 1.5 % of imported steel. In this case, 7 % of the steel used in the construction of the trawler came from the Netherlands. After a long legal process, the shipowner company obtained an exemption after a vote in the Senate of the United States. It was at the end of the year.

The story and technical characteristics of the boat have made it the centre of attention in Dutch Harbor. It is the most modern vessel in the fishing ground- the first in more than two decades- and it represents a bet on pioneering sustainability and efficiency in the area. It cost $75 million. 

Part of this attention is also based on the electrically driven winches and regeneration that Ibercisa has supplied. “It is big news in the area because the fleet of these fishing grounds is very old. The sector has been waiting for it”, stressed Javier Díaz.

The winches of “America´s Finest”

Ibercisa’s order for “America’s Finest” from the American shipowner American Fishermen included, as well as the control systems, the following equipment:

- Trawl winches
- Net drums
- Sweep-line winch
- Gilson winch
- Cod-end winch
 - Net sounders
- Out-haul winch
 - Auxiliary winches
 - Mooring winches
- Anchor winches