It is the first time that a fishing vessel has received this award. At the award ceremony at the Nor-Shipping exhibition, the Minister of Fisheries and Ocean Policy, Bjørnar Skjæran, read the statement from the jury.
The Jury's statement:
"The 'Ship of the Year 2023' goes to a vessel that offers revolutionary technology.
Reduced emissions
The vessel is fitted with a hybrid propulsion system where the battery system has a capacity of 1,130 kWh. In addition to several energy efficiency measures, this will collectively provide at least a 25 per cent reduction in fuel consumption and emissions compared to a corresponding modern vessel of this type. The savings can be up to 40 per cent for some operations. The twin propulsion system with rudder nozzles is the most significant single area for energy efficiency. This alone reduces energy consumption by 15 per cent compared to conventional vessels of the same type. In addition, comes electrical winches, comprehensive heat recovery, and further energy efficiency measures.
Technology
The catch technology needs to take care of the raw material from the catch to the finished product.
- Gentle trawling and boarding where the catch will flow in below the waterline
- Live storage of the catch in waterfilled tanks at the reception system
- Processing of multiple products
- Even factory exploitation
- CO2 as a refrigerant provides a lower temperature during freezing and higher quality
- All residual raw material is recovered for use
The shipowner and ship designers have used the technology in fish carriers and land-based facilities and merged this into a complete design package for onboard production.
Transferability
This year's winner is ECOFIVE, and the name comes from the working title of the project, 'Eco-friendly-fishing-vessel'. It is an environmentally friendly vessel concept where many elements can easily be used on other vessels and thus make the fishing fleet greener. This concept is a big step in a more resource-friendly direction in a time where sustainable harvesting from the sea will come even more into focus in the future".
The composition of the jury
The 'Ship of the Year' award is presented by the magazine Skipsrevyen, and the jury has been composed of Gustav Erik Blaalid, chair of the Board of Skipsrevyen, Sverre Steen, Head of Department at NTNU in Trondheim, and Hans Jørgen Rambech, senior advisor at Sintef Ocean in Trondheim.
Facts about ECOFIVE:
- A trawler for whitefish and shrimp
- Shipowner: Bluewild AS
- Ship design: Ulstein Design & Solutions AS
- Shipbuilding: Westcon Yards
The factory trawler is 73.2 m long, has a cargo space of approximately 2,000 cubic metres and is equipped with a triple trawl and a pelagic trawl. The equipment suppliers are mainly from the Norwegian maritime cluster.