Zenith fishing vessel completed by Macduff Shipyards
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Macduff Shipyards has recently signed over its latest new build fishing vessel Zenith BF 106 to owner Mark Robertson and his sons Paul and Adam.
The fishing boat replaces the owner’s previous two trawlers Zeyphr BF 601(ex-Uberous) built by the yard in 2005 and Zenith BF 106 (ex-Daystar) built by the yard in 2008.
The vessel is intended to fish out of Fraserburgh targeting primarily prawns in the North Sea region.
Zenith is the second vessel in a series of three sister ships, all of which are being built at the yards newly developed Buckie site.
The vessel follows on from the Celestial Dawn BF 109 which was handed over in the summer of 2022, and will itself be followed by the third sister ship Forever Faithful, now well under construction.
All three boats feature the same hull form and general fishing arrangement, however, each have their own unique internal layout to suit the owners’ preferences.
A Macduff Shipyards spokesman said: "Designed between the yard and Macduff Ship Design, during the early design phase of the lead vessel the yard commissioned the Wolfson Unit in Southampton to run a case study of two hull forms utilising CFD technology.
"The first hull form was a design previously built by the yard for a similar type of fishing.
"The second was the new concept model featuring increased length, a gradual bustle forward of the propeller and a unique stem where the bulbous bow was not fully submerged but rather tapered gradually into the bow’s upper region.
"Results from the study indicated a significant reduction in hull resistance at the two test speeds of eight and 10 knots which has now been verified during the first year of service of the sister ship.
"Another significant difference between the designs was an increase in beam from around 7.0m of earlier vessels in this category up to around 7.6m.
"The increase in beam allowed the vessel to carry less internal ballast while also creating more deck space which was of particular benefit within the accommodation and fish processing areas.
"This increase in hull efficiency enables the owner to save fuel, and in turn, reduce the emissions and environmental impact of the vessel."
To further reduce the environmental impact of Zenith, the propulsion package was very carefully considered.
The vessel features a Novga (previously Heimdal) CPP stern gear package with a 2.3m diameter controllable pitch propeller, housed within a nozzle, coupled to a large reduction gearbox complete with two PTOs for hydraulic power, driven by a Caterpillar C18 main engine with power output of 600hp.
With one engine driving both propulsion and hydraulics, the engine is kept with an efficient operating window with no significant periods of idling and energy loss.
The C18 main engine on Zenith was one of the first pair of IMO Tier III certified engines to be fitted by the yard.
A SCR and urea/AdBlue system is fitted in the engine room, provided by Xeamos of the Netherlands, which allows the engine to meet the new, more stringent emission standards set by the IMO.
Certification of the engine and SCR system was arranged by Finning CAT who assembled the complete system on their test bed in Cannock, with witnessing and certification provided by DNV/GL.
The system was proven to work well during sea trials where the 35dB reduction SCR silencer helped to reduce noise levels throughout the vessel.
The Macduff Shipyards spokesman added: "The hull of Zenith is built entirely from steel, apart from the wheelhouse and mast which are aluminium, and features a double chine hull form, transom stern and modern bow designed to cut cleanly through the sea with less energy leading to a reduction in fuel consumption and emissions along with increased crew comfort.
"In broad terms the layout of the Zenith is like some of the other recent new builds produced by the yard.
"Below deck features the cabins, engine room, fish hold and a large freshwater tank forward of the collision bulkhead.
"Whereas above deck is situated the aft shelter, galley/mess and side passage area, fish processing area and winch room.
"Particular attention was paid by the owner to the arrangement of the accommodation and fish processing areas onboard.
"The galley is of considerable size with comfortable living space for the live on-board crew, as are the washrooms, laundry and dry locker spaces.
"The fishing processing area has been optimised and uses the available space neatly. Care and attention were also placed on positioning of equipment to maximise efficiency to reduce the crews workload.
"It features conveyor belt to sort the catch in place of a traditional tray which lifts the product out of the hopper and six different prawn washers within arm’s reach of the sorting belt.
"A flush hold unloading hatch is also fitted in the fish processing area forward which creates a larger floor space which is a benefit at sea when the hatch is not used anyway."
