Northline Seafoods’ f/v Hannah, an innovative seafood platform that was more than three years in the making, has begun operating in Bristol Bay, Alaska in time for the 2024 salmon fishing season.
The Hannahs departure from Fairhaven Shipyard in Bellingham, Wash. on May 25 marked the completion of the vessel, which included 15 months of construction.
The Hannah, a 400-foot by 100-foot barge, is an all-in-one solution for buying, freezing, shipping, storing and distributing wild Alaskan salmon. It was built out of an existing barge hull that was towed to Washington state from the Gulf of Mexico.
“We developed the Hannah to produce higher quality fish through a more efficient process that benefits both fishermen and customers,” Northline Seafoods CEO Ben Blakey explained. “This project is a continuation of Northline’s commitment to innovation and environmental sustainability in the fishing industry.”
The floating supply-chain platform, according to Washington-based Northline, improves quality, increases efficiency and preserves the value of wild salmon at the source.
It’s ultra-low-temperature refrigeration system creates a new production model for wild Alaskan salmon, the company has said, as whole, round fish are quickly frozen to a core temperature of minus-30 degrees Fahrenheit directly on the fishing grounds, preserving salmon in a fresh-like state.
“This is a dream come true,” Blakey said at the time of the vessel’s departure from Bellingham. “Seeing our vessel leave the Fairhaven Shipyard is a critical milestone for the Bristol Bay salmon industry and for Northline Seafoods.”
“Our success is shared with many partners, including the Port of Bellingham and the more than 250 local vendors who contributed to the construction of the Hannah,” he continued. This is an important moment for us all.”
At the end of the 2024 fishing season, the Hannah is expected to return to Bellingham where it would continue to operate as a cold-storage facility for the 2024 season catch. The whole, round, frozen salmon will be stored on the vessel, thawed and processed on-demand, to buyers’ specifications.
In the spring of 2025, the vessel is scheduled to again journey to Bristol Bay as part of what Northline has called creation of a “cyclical, flexible, adaptable and efficient supply chain.”
Primary funding for the vessel came in 2022 when Northline Seafoods received a $40 million Food Supply Chain loan backed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as part of the Biden administration’s “Build Back Better” initiative.
This financing was secured through Greater Commercial Lending, a Reno, Nev. subsidiary of Greater Nevada Credit Union, which provides loans to businesses and organizations in underserved and rural communities.
Additionally, Seattle-based investment bank Zachary Scott assisted Northline Seafoods in the financing of construction and operations.
On June 30, the freezer barge experienced an electrical fire under one of its three spiral freezers, which caused a significant loss of freeze production capacity.
At the time of the incident, Northline Seafoods said that it would continue to provide services and support the fleet and fishermen throughout the rest of the season, while continuing to buy and freeze fish at a reduced capacity.
“This incident was certainly a setback, but thankfully the damage was limited, no one was injured and our freezing operations will continue throughout the salmon season,” Northline Seafoods CEO Ben Blakey said at the time. “We appreciate the understanding and support of our fishing fleet, and we look forward to getting our freezer fixed and back to full capacity.”
Mark Edward Nero can be reached at mark@maritimepublishing.com