Berlin NC 107 landed in Tromsø after a successful shrimp fishing trip to Svalbard

Berlin NC 107 was built by Norwegian shipbuilder VARD and delivered in March 2024. The vessel can catch and process groundfish species such as cod, haddock, and saithe, and is also equipped for shrimp catching and processing. Furthermore, the vessel can produce ensilage, maximising the utilisation of raw materials.

On 28 May, Berlin NC 107 completed its first shrimp trip of the year, landing 390 tonnes in Tromsø, Norway, after a successful trip to Svalbard. The vessel departed Tromsø on 25 April, returned to port on 28 May, and spent a total of 30 days fishing during a 33-day trip.   

Berlin NC 107 has two rotating captains. One of them is Icelander Teitur Björgvinsson, who commanded the ship during the trip that ended on 28 May. Björgvinsson says that when catching shrimp, patience is key. Searching or experimenting seldom delivers the desired results.

“We spent the entire trip catching shrimp in the Hopen Deep next to Hopen Island. We saw consistent volumes throughout the trip, with around 13 tonnes produced per day. When catching shrimp, the biggest challenge is having the patience to wait rather than trying something different or searching elsewhere when fishing is slow. Many other shrimp vessels around Svalbard try this, and then they return to the Hopen Deep,” says Björgvinsson.

Hopen Island sits in the southeastern corner of the Svalbard archipelago, on the boundary where the northern Barents Sea meets the Arctic Ocean. It is a thin sliver of rock rising to about 370 m, located roughly 200 km southeast of the main Svalbard island, Spitsbergen. The Hopen Deep, where Berlin NC 107 was catching shrimp, is a deep trough near the island that has long been one of the most productive shrimp grounds in the region. The species targeted is the northern shrimp, Pandalus borealis, also known as the cold-water prawn, deep-water shrimp, or pink shrimp. These are bottom-dwelling animals.

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A look at Berlin NC 107, delivered as a newbuild in March 2024.

Due to Berlin NC 107’s dual capabilities, the onboard shrimp processing differs significantly from that of a vessel primarily targeting shrimp.

“This is not traditional shrimp processing, and the production line is smaller than on dedicated shrimp vessels. However, we can produce more than 20 tonnes of shrimp products per day when fishing is going well. We have made some adjustments to the vessel's shrimp capabilities since last year. Therefore, this was the first shrimp trip in nine months, and it went well. I think vessel management has managed to overcome all the shrimp-related challenges that arose when the vessel was a newbuild,” says Björgvinsson.

Catching shrimp can be challenging because they make a daily vertical journey. At night, they ascend toward the surface to graze on plankton, microscopic organisms that drift in the water, and then return to the bottom during the day. During the 24-hour daylight of the northern summer, the shrimp spend longer periods on the bottom. Modern shrimp vessels have no way to accurately locate shrimp on the seabed, as the technology to do so does not yet exist. Most rely on depth-measuring tools that have not changed significantly in the past three decades.

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Berlin NC 107 produces three types of shrimp products from the same species: frozen raw shrimp and two types of cooked shrimp.

“The Alda Seafood and DFFU teams onshore closely follow product prices and are in daily communication with us, so we can adjust production to maximise the value of catches and focus on products that deliver the highest prices. We are producing shrimp in different types of packaging for a variety of customers,” says Björgvinsson.

During these shrimp trips, Berlin NC 107 has a rotating crew of 24 on eight-hour shifts, compared to 29 when targeting groundfish species such as cod, haddock, and saithe. The crew drops to 18 when the vessel is catching Greenland halibut.

A day after landing in Tromsø, the vessel headed straight back out to sea with its other rotating crew and continued catching shrimp near the Hopen Deep. It steamed north a few days ago and is now fishing north of the Svalbard archipelago. The vessel will return to Tromsø to land on 6 July.
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