Just off the southern shore of Bellingham Bay, near the Bellingham Cruise and Ferry Terminal, a pair of cranes are working atop a large barge.
The cranes are being used by Northline Seafoods to move heavy pieces of steel from the pier in the construction of the fish processing vessel, Hannah, said Mike Hogan, public affairs administrator for the Port of Bellingham.
Hannah, a “one-of-a-kind” salmon-processing vessel, began being constructed in January and the project has an estimated cost of $60 million, with plans to launch in early 2024. The 400-by-100-foot barge was transported from the Gulf of Mexico via the Panama Canal.
“This is a terrific project and another sign of the strength of Whatcom County’s working waterfront with over 6,000 jobs created or supported by marine trades,” Hogan said.
The Hannah will “buy, freeze, ship, store and distribute Bristol Bay salmon” — a process that, generally, requires the fish to change hands many times, which can hurt the salmon’s quality, according to Northline’s website.
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