Photo courtesy of Skipsteknisk
Earlier in March, we were commissioned to supply a DeepChill® system for a new factory trawler. Mag-Sea International Co., Ltd. and Tikhrybcom from Russia, are building a new trawler, f/t MAGADAN, designed by the Norwegian Naval Architect, Skipsteknisk. Turkey’s Tersan shipyard, one of the leading players in Turkey and Europe, is commissioned to build this modern factory ship.
F/t MAGADAN is set to catch up to 350 tons a day of Iwasi Sardines, Pacific Mackerel, Herring and Salmon. Mag-Sea and Tikhrybcom is incorporating the latest technology on this vessel to guarantee supply of the highest quality fish on the market.
At the peak of the fishing season, a holding capacity of 250 tons is required, as processing will take about 24 hours. The challenge then is to maintain this large quantity of fish at highest quality while in storage. This becomes even harder in summer season when water and fish temperature is about 18°C.
Another interesting aspect of this project is about preserving the sensitive fish species. Iwashi sardine spoils very rapidly due to its high (omega 3) fat content. Today, most of iwashi catch is processed into fish meal. Because the conventional RSW technology could not achieve cooling needed to chill and preserve large volumes of sardine over time. Also, the high flow rate and agitation of RSW damages the skin of this sensitive fish.
One of the objectives that Mag-Sea and Tikhrybcom are seeking with this project is to preserve iwashi and supply it as a high-value product. To address these cooling and preservation challenges, Mag-Sea engaged our company.
Deepchill® technology was chosen to achieve preservation goals of this project. Deepchill®, a homogeneous mix of microscopic round ice crystals suspended in seawater, can provide the energy required to instantly cool a large volume of fish.
We have worked in close collaboration with Skipsteknisk, Tersan and the client to develop a unique solution. This novel system is designed for Deepchilling fish in large holding tanks, to provide a homogenous mixing of fish and Deepchill®.
“Unlike RSW, Deepchill® does not require a high flow of water and does not rely on agitation that damages sensitive fish. Also, this ammonia based Deepchill® unit uses less than half the size of refrigeration system in comparison.”.
Inge Bertil Straume, Sales Manager at Skipsteknisk notes: “We believe in this jointly developed revolutionary preservation system and hope it would be the next generation of fish preservation technology that will be applied in future project.”