Hedinn

Deep-sea fishing is usually associated with the long voyages that the trawlers have to endure. It often takes up to five days before they reach the fishing grounds. It may be four weeks before the ships return to port. Reliable technology, which ensures smooth operation is essential.

These days, trawlers are usually equipped with the latest technology and thanks to their "wave-piercing" design, they are often much more efficient and environmentally friendly than older ships. Some are even equipped with a fully automated fish factory, processing the fish as well as directly filleting and packaging the final produce ready for the end consumer. All stages of the work – gutting, cutting, packaging and deep freezing – are carried out at sea. One of these factory trawlers has the innovative "Hedinn Protein Plant (HPP)" fish meal production system on board from the Icelandic plant manufacturer Hedinn.

On the high seas

At present, four Hedinn Protein Plants are in operation at sea. One of the two fishing trawlers is equipped with a "HPP-2000 Marine" plant which operates 24/7 and processes up to 50 tons of raw material every day. In total, during a voyage, up to 1,000 tons of fish are caught. Some of the process stages require the use of screw conveyors, driers and pumps. These are driven by bevel gear and parallel geared motors from NORD DRIVESYSTEMS. Einar Már Adalsteinsson from Hedinn explains the reason for choosing the drive specialist from Bargteheide: "During the long weeks at sea, it is important to have a functioning system on board. Interruptions to production must be avoided. However, if there is a problem, spare parts must be quickly available and a global customer service must be ensured. NORD DRIVESYSTEMS is present throughout the world – and is therefore always close to the ship, wherever it may be. A special 24-hour service network also ensures that even a completely assembled geared motor is available as a replacement within a very short time."

Clean

The fish meal production plant has to be cleaned at regular intervals. For this, a fine water mist is sprayed into the plant room. Of course, this increases the humidity to very high values – not exactly favourable conditions for the drive units. IP66 protection class, condensation holes, special coatings, stainless steel shafts, washdown design and smooth motors are just some of the options which increase the service life of the gear units and facilitate the cleaning process. In combination with food-compatible oil and special FDA-compliant surface treatments, fish processing can meet the stringent requirements for food processing.

From landlubber to mariner

Before going to sea, Hedinn had already gained experience on land with drive solutions from NORD DRIVESYSTEMS. "These were so positive that we decided to also use NORD drive technology for our offshore projects" says Adalsteinsson. In the meantime, NORD geared motors have successfully demonstrated their seaworthiness. From landlubber to mariner – NORD drives also share this vocation with the Hedinn Protein Plant. The HPP has been in successful operation on land for many years. It went to sea for the first time in July 2017 on the trawler Sólberg. At present a second ship has an HPP on board and further ships are under construction or are planned. Thanks to their high operational reliability, dependability, availability and energy efficiency, geared motors from NORD DRIVESYSTEMS are also on board.