Kristina EA sold to Russia

The multi-fishing vessel Kristina EA has been sold to Russia and will be delivered to new owners next week. Thereby ends the more than ten years´ history of this vessel in Samherji ownership.

Kristina EA is a vessel of approx. 7,000 tns and 105 mtrs in length, built in Spain in 1994. She became the largest ship in the Icelandic fishing fleet on arrival in Iceland in May 2005 under the name of Engey RE-1. Samherji purchased the vessel in March 2007 from HB-Grandi hf. and gave it the name Kristina EA.

Since that time Kristina EA has had a ten year successful operation. She began her last fishing trip Saturday September 16th and landed 2,180 tonnes of frozen mackerel in Hafnarfjörður last Tuesday after 6 days of fishing. The crew used the sailing time to Hafnarfjörður to finish freezing the catch, whose estimated value is approximately ISK 300 million, making this last fishing trip the best one in Kristina‘s history in Samherji ownership.

Ships don’t get much better than this

"It can be stated that Kristina ended her career with us at her very peak", says Arngrímur Brynjólfsson, captain of the Kristina EA. "Kristina is a large and roomy vessel of excellent seaworthiness, with first class crew and processing facilities. So we can safely say that you don’t really get many better ships than this one. There is certainly every reason to miss Kristina, but we must accept that the time for change has come," says Arngrímur.  The crew will sail the vessel to Ålesund where she will be delivered to new owners, next Tuesday.

Kristina EA is the sixth in a line of sister vessels purchased by the buyer, a Russian fishing vessel operator. The ship will be fishing Alaska Pollock in the Bering Sea, and faces a long journey, lasting approximately two months, sailing from Ålesund, across the Atlantic through the Panama Canal and the Pacific.