Jensen Maritime, the Seattle-based, Crowley Maritime Corp.-owned
naval architecture and marine engineering firm, has been honored with the New
Wave Award, which recognizes the company for the concept and design of the Northern
Leader, a 184-foot long, environmentally-friendly longline fishing
vessel owned by Alaskan Leader Fisheries.
The New Wave Award is issued by National Fisherman and
WorkBoat magazines during Seattle’s Pacific Marine Expo.
The Northern Leader
will be one of the world’s largest commercial longline fishing vessels and is
also the first Z-drive, diesel-electric fishing boat ever produced. Jensen has
provided complete marine engineering services for the vessel, ranging from
concept design to production engineering and even 3D fly-through modeling.
“We are proud of the innovation we’ve been able to infuse
into the design of Northern Leader,” Jensen Vice President Johan Sperling said in
a statement. “We know that commercial fishermen operate in some of the world’s
harshest and most isolated environments, which can create extremely hazardous
working conditions. To counteract the dangers and increase the comforts for the
crew, we have designed a vessel that will keep them safe from harm, while
capitalizing on the small seasonal window they have for harvesting their catch.”
The Northern Leader is currently under
construction at J.M. Martinac Shipbuilding Corp., in Tacoma, Washington and is
to be delivered to its homeport of Kodiak, Alaska, in April 2013.
The design of the 184-foot by 42-foot vessel allows for full
utilization of the targeted fish species by using equipment with minimal
environmental impact on the ocean’s ecosystem and a light operational fossil
fuel footprint. The vessel will be used in the commercial, longline fisheries
in the North Pacific, Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands.
