Björgúlfur EA 312 and Björg EA 7 on the sides / photo: Pálmi Gauti Hjörleifsson
Samherji Trawlers Dominate Icelandic Catch Rankings in 2024
ICELAND
Friday, February 07, 2025, 06:00 (GMT + 9)
Samherji's sister trawlers, Kaldbakur EA 1, Björgúlfur EA 312, and Björg EA 7, secured the top three positions in Iceland's 2024 catch rankings, according to the company's website, citing Aflafréttir. Kaldbakur led with 8,933 tonnes, followed by Björgúlfur with 8,687 tonnes, and Björg with 8,186 tonnes.

Björg EA 7 / samherji.is and Kaldbakur EA 1 on its way to land with a good catch / photo: Þorgeir Baldursson
These vessels supply raw material to Samherji's land-based processing facilities in Akureyri and Dalvík, which employ approximately 300 people. Samherji's fleet employs around 200 seafarers, with double crews assigned to each vessel.

The sister ships in Eyjafjörður: Björg EA 7, Kaldbakur EA 1 and Björgúlfur EA 312/ samherji.is
Kristján Vilhelmsson, Managing Director of Samherji's fishing division, emphasized that topping the catch rankings is not the primary objective. "Our focus is delivering high-quality product to processing on schedule," he stated. "Effective raw material management is crucial in the fisheries business, where fishing, processing, and sales are interconnected. To maintain consistent supply for processing, our vessels land six to seven times weekly, sometimes twice within the same week. This makes fisheries management complex. We maintained processing operations every day of the year except for two days due to severe weather, reflecting market demand for continuous supply."
Vilhelmsson highlighted the success of the eight-year-old sister ships, attributing it to meticulous construction, excellent maintenance, and highly skilled crews. "These vessels have proven exceptionally valuable," he commented. "Every detail was carefully considered during their construction, and maintenance has been consistently excellent. Critically, our ships are well-manned, with carefully selected personnel in every role across the fleet."
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