06-Sep-2023

Kirkella's lost trawl found in Svalbard

Parts of a lost trawl belonging to the vessel Kirkella, operated by Alda's subsidiary UK Fisheries, were recently returned to the vessel after being lost at sea near Svalbard for more than a year. Inspectors from the Governor of Svalbard found the missing parts at Hyttesletta south of Gråhuken in Woodfjorden in Svalbard in July.

The trawl had gotten stuck in a shipwreck approximately 200 nautical miles southwest of Bjørnøya, the southest island in the Svalbard archipelago, at the end of February last year. The crew on Kirkella tried to get the trawl up again with the help of a hook, but the hook also got stuck in the wreck. On a later trip, the crew tried again to get the hook and trawl loose, retrieving all but one part. The crew thought it was lost forever and were quite surprised when the Governor of Svalbard got in touch and told them they had found the missing items. This part had drifted approximately 500 nautical miles northward since Kirkella lost it.

Sigurbjörn Sigurdsson, one of Kirkella's two captains, was on duty when the trawl got stuck in the shipwreck near Bjørnøya. "We never leave anything in the ocean and do everything we can to retrieve items lost at sea. But when we tried to retrieve this part of the trawl net that was stuck in the wreck, we realised that the cod end and the sorting grid had broken off. We retrieved everything else. Interestingly, the missing items seem to have drifted off hundreds of miles north of Bjørnøya. We are thankful to the Governor's office for finding and returning the cod end and sorting grid. The capture sensors are valuable, and we are relieved nothing was left at sea," says Sigurdsson.

The story on the returned trawl net was first reported by the Svalbardposten. After coming across the trawl, a team from the Governor of Svalbard initially tried to get the trawl loose on 9 August, using both manpower and a helicopter lift, without success. They estimated that the trawl weighed approximately two tonnes, as there was a lot of stone in it. Finally, the Polarsyssel vessel, operated by the Governor's office, towed the trawl net to land. If there hadn't been for the two capture sensors on the trawl, it would probably have been sent for grinding as residual waste, but with the serial number on the sensors, the Governor's office was able to contact the manufacturer, who could name the owner, UK Fisheries, the operator of the Kirkella.

The Polarsyssel met Kirkella west of Hopen to return the lost parts of the trawl net. © Mathias Strömqvist/The Governor of Svalbard.

On 23 August, the Polarsyssel vessel was near Hopen, where the Kirkella was trawling. The two ships met west of Hopen that evening, and the cod end and sorting grid were returned. These parts of the trawl net are still in satisfactory condition and will be used on the Kirkella.

Read the story in the Svalbardposten here (in Norwegian).