Fishermen’s News, March 1, 2017
Designed by Skipsteknisk and built by Florida’s Eastern Shipbuilding, the 194-foot F/T Araho uses molded chines to reduce hull resistance and increase fuel efficiency. Photo courtesy of Eastern Shipbuilding.
In late January, Florida-based Eastern Shipbuilding Group delivered the DNV-classed factory processor fishing trawler F/T Araho (Hull 175) to the O’Hara Corporation of Rockland, Maine. The new vessel, to fish in the waters of Alaska and the North Pacific, is the first US flag freezer processor factory trawler constructed in more than 25 years.
The O’Hara family and the Eastern Shipbuilding D’Isernia family have a long and productive history, and the Araho is the sixth fishing vessel the yard has built for the O’Hara family over the last 20 years, although none has been as sophisticated. In the early 1990’s the two companies collaborated on the F/V Enterprise, a catcher/processor conversion delivered in 1996. Between the years 2002-2005 four additional fishing vessels were delivered.
The O’Hara family has been in the maritime industry for more than a century, starting in Massachusetts, where Francis J. O’Hara began building his sailing fleet in 1903. In 1978, Eastern Fisheries was created through a partnership between Frank O’Hara Sr. and Roy Enoksen. After four generations, the process continues. Today, Eastern Fisheries is one of the world’s largest scallop fleets and processes more than 20 percent of the scallops consumed in the US and O’Hara Corporation operates three catcher-processor vessels in the Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska.
Launched in July 2015, the F/T Araho is a 194-foot by 49-foot ST-115 design, furnished by Skipsteknisk, AS of Aalesund, Norway. The new vessel is classed by Det Norske Veritas (DNV) as +1A1, Stern Trawler, E0 Notation for hull and DNV ICE 1B designed, outfitted and inspected for harsh cold environments. The design uses a molded hull shape, which reduces hull resistance and increases fuel efficiency.
The accommodations for 54 crew, fitted by selected joiner and insulation sub-contractor Marine Interior Systems of Covington, Louisiana, are completely insulated for the harsh working environment.
Araho is fully equipped with state of the art systems for bottom and pelagic trawling with single trawl. The winches, provided by Rapp Hydema, are electrically driven and are designed to regenerate power as the trawl is released.
The main processing equipment in the enclosed factory consists of various types of fish heading machines and factory systems, consisting of transport systems, fish grader, storage tanks, weighing graders, weighing system, packing tables, packing machine, automatic horizontal freezer system and block elevators.
The vessel layout, including the process deck and transport and handling equipment, was designed to provide the largest amount of automation possible in order to assist the employees working in the processing area. This arrangement is designed to achieve very high throughput while taking care not to damage the product, while improving employee efficiency, all in a clean and safe work area.
The vessel is outfitted with three working cranes for various onboard operations. One aft deck crane is dedicated to work during fishing operations. It’s a 360-degree deck crane with a telescopic boom and a lifting capacity of 6,400 pounds and a maximum working radius of 35 feet. There is one 360-degree deck crane with a telescopic boom at midship dedicated to off-loading for continuous operation in port. Another crane forward is also dedicated for continuous operation during off-loading, and has 360-degree capability and a knuckle boom operated by its own hydraulic power unit.
The vessel also boasts the latest in EPA emission Tier 3 certified diesel engines. The vessel is powered by one EMD 16-710G7-Tier 3 diesel engine rated at 4,000 HP at 900 RPM, provided by Valley Power Systems, of Seattle. Propulsion is provided through an owner-supplied vertical offset Lufkin reduction gear model VSQ4134HG-K-PTO with a 7.20:1 reduction. While underway the Lufkin propulsion gear also drives a variable speed, constant voltage ABB 1,700 kW shaft generator at 1,200 RPM which offers a DNV approved floating frequency ranging from 50-60 Hz. This generator provides the vessel with a clean primary electrical power source for utilization of the vessels total installed equipment, winches, processing, fish handling systems, pumps and ship’s services. The electrical and automation systems are designed by Anacortes, Washington-based Ockerman Automation Consulting, Inc.
Secondary electrical power is provided by two 550kW Caterpillar C18 Tier 3 generator sets, while emergency power is provided by one 95kW Caterpillar C4.4 Tier 3 emergency generator. All are rated for 60 Hz, at 480 VAC. These diesel engines comply with the current EPA/MARPOL control of emissions of nitrogen oxides from marine diesel engines. The vessel is also outfitted with a Brunvoll 350kW electric tunnel bow thruster.
Eastern Shipbuilding Group is a family held shipbuilding company located in Panama City, Florida and currently employs more than 1,200 personnel. The company has two new construction and repair facilities and has been in business since 1976 building new, converting and repairing vessels in steel and aluminum of all types, and delivered seventeen vessels of various sizes and designs over the last twelve months, including the freezer processor factory trawler Araho, maintaining the shipyard’s role as one of the largest manufacturers of highly specialized fishing vessels in the United States.