Trawlers catch fish by towing large nets, usually along the seabed (bottom trawling). Vessel sizes range from smaller fresh fish trawlers to large factory and freezer ships on which the caught fish are processed and frozen.

Towing and hauling power

Trawlers need strong engines to tow their nets, plus more power for their trawl hauling gear and refrigerating equipment. Deep-sea trawlers need even stronger engines to tow the trawls at the right depth and speed.

Operating for long periods without interruption (24/7), trawlers spend weeks or even months at sea until their holds are full. Our propulsion engines and generators are designed to be robust and compact while delivering high output flexibility without pause.

Go to Four-Stroke propulsion engines

Go to Four-Stroke auxiliary GenSets

Pelagic, or mid-water trawling, is the business of catching the fish (such as herring or mackerel) that live at various levels between the seabed and the surface. Pelagic trawlers use a wide range of advanced technologies to locate, catch, and store fish in refrigerated seawater (RSW) or process and freeze the fish.

Complex power needs

Pelagic trawlers often operate over longer distances than bottom trawlers. They have to withstand harsh weather conditions and comply with strict environmental regulations. Operating costs have to be kept low.

In addition, minimizing noise levels is important for crew comfort. Vessels with such varied demands require highly reliable engines with a robust and compact design. They need power and operational flexibility for propulsion, for the winches, fish pumps, and RSW systems as well as for processing and freezing.

Go to Four-Stroke propulsion engines

Go to Four-Stroke diesel-electric propulsion 

The live fish carrier, or well boat, is a relatively new type of vessel, the demand for which is steadily growing. It is used to carry smolt (young fish) to the offshore farms and to carry live fish (usually salmon) from the farms to the factories. The vessels have a multitude of important functions, including treating diseases and sorting by size, and refrigeration. And the better they do it, the better the salmon.

Gentle factories

The aquaculture industry requires efficient vessels with specialized functions such as carrying equipment for gentle handling of fish. The focus is on fish welfare, hygiene, and quality. Live fish carriers may cover large areas with many different farms. The work includes a lot of dynamic positioning. Operation should be silent and OPEX low.

A fish carrier’s engines must be reliable, robust and compact, with low noise and vibration emissions. Suitable power must be combined with operational flexibility, low SFOC and good performance at low load and high load. Low maintenance and repair requirements are also a must.

Go to Four-Stroke propulsion engines

Go to Four-Stroke diesel-electric propulsion

Go to Four-Stroke auxiliary GenSets

Tuna is one of the world’s favorite fish, making it a very important commercial catch. Millions of tons are consumed per year, and about 60 percent of which is caught in purse seiners. Tuna purse seiners search for, catch, and deliver tuna back to shore.

Streamlined for strength and speed

Tuna purse seiners have to cover long distances on their search for tuna, even with the help of advanced technologies. When the vessel is full, they have to return to the onshore factory at high speed. Optimizing operating and maintenance costs and reducing vessels’ environmental impact are key challenges.

The engines face heavy-duty operation in both propulsion and auxiliary tasks, so they need reliable power availability, high output, flexibility, and good partial-load performance. Keeping fuel costs low is essential.

Go to Four-Stroke diesel-electric propulsion

Go to Four-Stroke auxiliary GenSets

The fishing industry is facing the major challenge of complying with strict environmental standards without sacrificing propulsion efficiency and ship performance. A hybrid propulsion system is often the best solution on vessels with flexible operational profiles and running hours with both high and low power demands.

MAN HyProp ECO

MAN HyProp ECO propulsion combines the CP propeller, the diesel engine and the electric shaft machine (alternator/motor). The system overcomes the constraint on constant speed propulsion machinery by utilizing variable speed drive (VSD) technology at the shaft generator/motor. This means that the power take-off/power take-in (PTO/PTI) operates with variable propeller speed, and optimal utilization of the diesel engine is thereby achieved, which is not possible in a conventional PTO/PTI installation with constant propeller speed.

Battery power

MAN battery-hybrid systems use batteries as an additional, independent source of power for propulsion and hotel loads. Combining combustion engines and battery power onboard a vessel optimizes engine operation and loading, resulting in higher efficiency of the complete power train. A battery-hybrid propulsion solution reduces fuel consumption, exhaust emissions, and noise. At the same time, it increases the reliability of the complete power train as well as its performance due to its faster system reaction times.

Talk to an expert