Arctic Storm, American Seafoods ready new vessels ahead of Alaska’s A pollock season

Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.-based fishing and seafood processing company Arctic Storm is set to launch a brand new vessel ahead of the Alaskan pollock fishing season kicking off in January 2024.

Fellow Seattle-based processing company American Seafoods is also finishing restorations on a vessel it purchased earlier this year from Phoenix Processor Limited Partnership to ensure it can also take advantage of the traditionally lucrative first pollock season of the year.

Arctic Storm’s new vessel, the 328-foot Arctic Fjord, is the first pollock trawler built in the U.S. in more than 30 years, and the company has been preparing the ship for the 2024 pollock season by putting it through sea trials in the Northern Pacific.

Construction of the vessel, which was designed by Norwegian maritime technology company Kongsberg Maritime and built in the U.S. state of Louisiana by Thoma-Sea Marine Constructor, took about five years to complete. The Arctic Fjord will replace the company’s original ship of the same name, which dated back to 1974. It joins three other vessels in Arctic Storm’s fleet, which primarily catches pollock and whiting.

“The Arctic Fjord sets a new benchmark for the Alaskan pollock fleet; from its fuel-efficient design to the outstanding crew accommodations and state-of-the-art onboard processing facilities, every element has been cherry-picked to not just do the job but to do it to the highest possible standards,” Kongsberg Vice President of Sales Jess Woodruff said.

The vessel comes equipped with …

Photo courtesy of Crowley Corporation