F/V Harfn Svenbjarnarson, Seafood

Iceland

North Star Ice Equipment is a popular choice for Iceland’s leading fishing companies.  The most recent North Star system was installed on the whitefish freezer trawler Hrafn Sveinbjarnarson.

the project

The boat, which is owned by Thorbjorn Fiskanes hf. of Grindavik, Iceland, was fitted with a North Star model 10SS liquid ice system under the supervision of Kaelitaekni, North Star’s exclusive distributor in Iceland.  The North Star system will produce over 10 tons of liquid seawater ice per day directly on the ice maker’s stainless steel freezing surface.

The ice maker discharges liquid ice directly into a screw conveyor beneath the machine, then it is transferred into a mixing tank, where it is mixed with water in the desired ratio.  From there it can be pumped to multiple use points throughout the boat, including the fish bin, bleeding bin, fish buffer bin and trimming bin.  The onboard system ensures the vessel can meet Icelandic regulations requiring that all fish be properly cooled prior to grading and trimming.

North Star liquid ice, also known as slurry ice, can be mixing with water in a wide range of ratios for different cooling applications.  North Star liquid ice offers a number of advantages:  When applied it immediately fills all voids in the tote or container of fish, surrounding it entirely with ice for maximum cooling.  Unlike most slurry ice, the water drains quickly and completely from North Star liquid ice leaving only ice and product.

Drainage is very important because it reduces the salinity of the ice, causing its temperature to rise and reducing potential damage to delicate fish tissue. North Star liquid ice systems are known throughout the world for their solid stainless steel freezing surface, heavy‐duty construction and non‐corrosive materials, making them a wise choice for marine installations.  The systems can be designed with a variety of delivery options, including direct discharge to collector screw, slurry pump or mixing tank.  The company’s largest liquid ice maker can produce 90 tons of liquid ice per day, and units can be combined for greater capacity.  In fact, the largest onboard liquid ice system in the world was manufactured by North Star for the Icelandic fishing vessel Faxi.