If you are enjoying our Meet the Fleet blog series, we have some good news – it’s time to introduce you to the fantastic Blængur. We caught up with the captain himself, Sigurður Hörður Kristjánsson, to find out what it’s like working on the ship.
The word “Blængur” means “raven” and this term originated all the way back when the Vikings, the first settlers of Iceland, arrived at the country. Sailing under the flag of Iceland, this impressive vessel was built in 1974, and although it is one of our older ships, it’s by no means any less dependable than the others in our fleet. Because it has been very well-maintained, the Blængur has been proven to withstand almost 50 years of fishing and counting.
Blængur has the capability to fish with bottom trawl and pelagic trawl. Over the last few years, the fishermen have been using bottom trawl, catching saith, cod, Greenland Halibut, haddock and redfish. The vessel typically fishes in the Icelandic waters, occasionally taking a trip to the Barents Sea, however this year it will only be visiting the former.
The ship can travel through the sea with around 15-16 knots speed if necessary, which makes it one of the fastest trawlers sailing under the flag of Iceland. Taking around 11 trips a year, the crew members enjoy their jobs on board, saying that it is a good working environment and that morale is always very high.
There are two crews of 26, which alternate each time. On board, there’s a gym room, jacuzzi and a TV room with a PlayStation, meaning the fishermen can relax and unwind after a busy shift.
The ship usually lands in its hometown of Neskaupstaður to unload the frozen at sea products, which then through third-party transport, it gets imported to our cold stores in the UK.
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