NationalFisherman.com, February 8, 2017
By Jessica Hathaway
The latest in a series of new Bering Sea boats headed to Alaska was built on Florida’s Gulf Coast and is owned by a Maine company, making it a truly tri-coastal, all-American vessel. The DNV-classed Araho is the first newbuild U.S.-flagged freezer processor factory trawler in more than 25 years.
Eastern Shipbuilding Group of Panama City, Fla., launched the 194-foot factory trawler on July 15, 2016, and delivered the vessel to the Rockland, Maine-based O’Hara Corp. on Jan. 28, 2017.
The Araho is now steaming north, having traversed the Panama Canal, and is headed for a haulout at Puglia Engineering’s Fairhaven yard in Bellingham, Wash., on or around Feb. 20, before docking at Seattle’s Pier 91. The crew is expected to run more trials around Seattle after the addition of trawl doors. The Araho will then head to Alaska, possibly to catch the tail end of the pollock A-season.
O’Hara Corp. has also recently purchased a 57 percent of the Fishing Company of Alaska’s quota shares, as well as the Alaska Spirit, which is in Dutch Harbor.
The Araho is the sixth fishing vessel Eastern has built for the O’Hara family over the last 20 years. It was designed by Norwegian naval architect firm Skipsteknisk, which also designed Blue North Fisheries’ new flagship longliner Blue North.