The Hannah — a 400-foot barge that has been moored off the Fairhaven Shipyard since early 2023 — began its maiden voyage to Alaska on Saturday, May 25 to spend the summer freezing and storing salmon.
Workers on the vessel, owned by Northline Seafoods, will buy fish directly from Bristol Bay fishermen, then freeze and store the catches on board. Per day, it can freeze up to 1 million pounds of salmon to minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit in under 2 hours. In total, the vessel can hold approximately 12 million pounds of fish.
The flash freezing process will allow the salmon to maintain a “fresh-like” state when eventually thawed.
With the barge, Northline aims to reduce the steps it takes for the catch to reach customers.
Typically, fishermen bring their fish ashore and sell to buyers. The fish can be shipped between multiple processors before being shipped to buyers in the continental U.S. and given to consumers.
In August, the Hannah will return to Bellingham with the fish and use the Fairhaven Shipyard as its headquarters for distribution. The fish will be thawed and processed on board and on demand, then distributed to buyers.
The Hannah’s process requires significantly less transportation, thereby reducing Northline’s carbon footprint throughout the process by relying less on trucks and other vehicles.
“This is a dream come true. Seeing our vessel leave the Fairhaven Shipyard is a critical milestone for the Bristol Bay salmon industry and for Northline Seafoods,” said Ben Blakey, CEO of Northline Seafoods in a news release. “I am proud of our team and appreciative of all the people who helped us get here.”
The project was made possible through the “Build Back Better” initiative in 2022 which provided Northline with a $40 million Food Supply Chain loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Hailey Hoffman is a CDN visual journalist; reach her at haileyhoffman@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 103.
