Contact
Sæmundur Elíasson
Project Manager
saemundur.eliasson@matis.is
A collaborative project between Micro ryðfrí smíði ehf., Skinney-Þinganes and Matís on the development of a vertical Dragon for fishing vessels was discussed in Sjórmannadagsútgáfu Sóknarfæri.
The dredging and cooling equipment Drekann can be found in many vessels in this country, but its improved vertical design will be a real innovation in fishing vessels.
At the end of last year, the Technology Development Fund supported a two-year project to redesign the Dragon, which is a bleeding and cooling device in ships, and the project is run by the company Micro stainless construction, which produces the equipment, the fishing company Skinney-Þinganes and Matís. The dragon is a well-known equipment and has been used on board a number of vessels in the fleet for bleeding fish, which is the first stage in the processing process of catch on board. Micro has been producing the equipment since 2012, but now it's time for a redesign and at the same time a completely new way of thinking, because the next generation of the Dragon will be vertical. Such an embodiment has never been seen before in ships, but the intention is for the vertical Dreki to be in four new tugs that are currently under construction in Norway, but Skinney-Þinganes and Gjögur will get two ships each.
Homogeneity in raw material handling
Matís is involved in the research part of the project and that part of the project is handled by Sæmundur Elíasson at Matís in Akureyri. "For example, we are comparing different ways and implementations, comparing the quality of fish and thus evaluating the benefits of the equipment. The dragon equipment is both a bleeding and cooling device for fish immediately after bleeding and the goal is to redesign the equipment from scratch. The new design will be vertical in the ships instead of being horizontal on the processing deck, as has been the case until now, "says Sæmundur, but at the same time changing the design itself, the goal is to be more automated than before and to increase the quality of the raw material. Sæmundur says that the Dragon equipment that is now in ships has proven to be very good and has the advantage that the volume utilization of the production deck will be good, but it is very important to make full use of the space. In short, it is a compartmentalized conveyor belt in a closed vessel, filled with seawater or refrigerant. The name Dragon is simply derived from the metaphor of tank belts.
"The idea behind the equipment is that all fish receive exactly the same length of treatment, which ensures uniformity in the handling of raw materials. Fish that enter the Dragon go into a chamber that is formed between two kicks on the belt and then go a full circle in the tank belt and are constantly submerged in sea or coolant. With the speed of the belt, it is possible to control how long the fish are in the bleed, but one of the goals of this new project is to increase the automation in time management and feeding of fish into the Dragon, "says Sæmundur, but the length of the Dragon varies depending on the size of vessels and processing deck space.
Innovative thinking
The vertical design of the new Dragon in the ships of Skinney-Þinganes and Gjögur is interesting as a lot of floor space is saved on the processing deck. The dragon will reach from the processing deck and down to the ship's train and the space will be closed.
"This means that the fish comes out of the bleeding, goes into the Dragon and then travels in it down to the train and then comes up again from where it then continues in cooling and in a basket. Ideologically, this is very simple, but the project is solving various technical aspects such as cleaning, maintenance of the equipment and more. The basic idea that the fish receive equal treatment in a sea bath while it is bleeding is the same as before, but the idea of vertical equipment that goes down into the train is new and very interesting, "says Sæmundur, but the construction of the four trawlers has come a long way in Norway and this equipment will be put on board later in the year.
Bleeding is especially important in salted fish processing
There has been and has been a great deal of spotlight in recent years on catch management from the first stage at sea, and in particular there have been changes in the cooling of the raw material. Emphasis is placed on cooling the fish as soon as possible after it comes on board. Sæmundur says that within Matís there is a great deal of knowledge about these processes, as the company has been an active participant in this development with fisheries companies and manufacturers of technical equipment for fishing vessels and fish processing plants. He says the bleeding factor is no less important than the cooling, especially in the case of fish that goes into salting.
"At the beginning of this project, we review the results of the use of Dragon Equipment in the ships of Skinney-Þinganes and the results were very good, ie. that a 10 to 15% higher proportion of fish by this method resulted in higher quality categories of products in salted fish processing. Bleeding is especially important for salted fish processing. Bad-blooded fish that goes into salt becomes a poorer product after the processing process and therefore ends up in less expensive product categories. That's why bleeding is no less important than the cooling itself, "says Sæmundur.