Bristol Bay floating fish processor back at full capacity after fire

Workers load food into 1 of nan 3 spiral freezers connected committee nan Hannah. (Casey Chandler/KDLG)

A floating food processor serving nan Bristol Bay sportfishing fleet is afloat operational again, successful nan aftermath of a occurrence past month that severely reduced its retention capacity.

The Hannah, operated by startup Northline Seafoods, arrived successful nan region earlier this year. It uses super-cold spiral freezers to quickly frost food and past shop them connected committee until nan extremity of nan season. But conscionable earlier Bristol Bay’s salmon play deed its peak, 1 of those spiral freezers had an electrical fire. Because of nan June 30 blaze, nan Hannah has operated astatine reduced capacity for nan past 2 weeks.

On Wednesday, Northline announced that nan freezer had been repaired. With that fix, nan startup’s floating processing alloy is backmost to afloat capacity.

“We decidedly missed a fewer days of nan peak, which we can’t get back. But we intend to proceed to bargain hopefully into nan autumn here,” said Northline CEO Ben Blakey.

The freezer collapsed aft nan fire. Blakey quickly told his fleet that drift boats pinch entree to different marketers should effort to waste their food elsewhere, “just truthful that they wouldn’t suffer sportfishing clip and wouldn’t suffer income,” he said.

Around half of Northline’s first fleet of astir 100 boats near for different processors. Then, millions of food deed nan Nushagak district.

The Hannah, Northline Seafoods’ floating processor, anchors by Clarks Point successful nan Nushagak District. (Casey Chandler/KDLG)

Blakey says astatine first, nan Hannah kept taking fish. But then, to drawback up pinch nan food it had already purchased, it stopped accepting caller deliveries from nan Nushagak for 24 hours, correct astatine nan highest of nan season. After that, a fewer much drift boats near for different processors. Blakey says astir 45 boats kept sportfishing for Northline.

“We’re still buying from a important information of our fleet, and we’ll proceed to bargain until location are nary much food near to beryllium caught and until group nary longer want to fish,” Blakey said.

Northline besides laid disconnected 8 of nan Hannah’s workers because location were little food to process. Blakey says immoderate of those layoffs would person happened anyhow arsenic nan play slowed down; nan remaining 64 workers will enactment done nan extremity of nan season. Northline will proceed to return food into August, aft immoderate different Bristol Bay processors close.

“I expect to person immoderate of nan existing fleet that we had, astatine nan commencement of nan season, travel back, but past astir apt a fewer further extracurricular boats that are conscionable looking for precocious markets,” Blakey said.

Blakey says he does not expect nan occurrence to person a semipermanent financial impact.

“It’s not, not, not a deed that’s going to support america from coming backmost aliases support america from fixing what we person and moving forward,” Blakey said.

Blakey says that successful summation to immoderate semipermanent adjustments to nan freezers, he plans to walk nan wintertime moving connected different improvements.

“With immoderate first twelvemonth cognition you’re gonna find dozens, if not hundreds of mini tweaks,” Blakey said. “I could spell connected and on. But essentially, we person a laundry database of mini tweaks and additions that I deliberation that collectively will benignant of thief america run a batch smoother adjacent summer.”

Those tweaks will see changes to nan Hannah’s food buying stations and apical platform that will make nan alloy much user-friendly for sportfishing boats.