Shrimp factory rebuild generate higher production capacity

Three IQF tunnel freezers is all that remains from the previous factory on the Polar Seafood trawler Qaasiut. Aside from those, everything else has been removed from the factory deck to make room for a completely new shrimp processing plant from Carsoe.

With a capacity of 93 tons/24h of cooked, frozen, and palletized shrimp each day, the new and improved factory is designed to ensure a higher yield on the catch and seamless work processes for the crew.

The only 10-centimeter headroom above the new palletizing robot is one example of how the customized factory is built to get the most out of the limited space onboard, while still allowing for adequate space for the crew to work in the factory.

Jørgen Jørgensen, one of the two skippers onboard Qaasiut, has been a skipper for 45 years and is very satisfied with the new factory: “It is a fantastic, simple and effective factory,” he says before heading off to complete the final details prior to departure.

The factory is designed with three separate lines to get the highest possible yield on the catch.

1. The smallest, industrial shrimp are IQF-frozen and then automatically packed into big bags with direct access to the cargo for easy storing.
   
   
2. The medium sized shrimp are cooked and sent through the IQF-tunnels for quick processing to maintain a high product quality before being packed into 5 kg boxes and palletized separately.
   
   
3. The largest shrimp, the Japan-sized, are fresh frozen in 12 kg freezing blocks in the three onboard horizontal plate freezers. These freezers are the perfect choice when space is limited, and capacity requirements are high.

The three lines make it possible for the crew to adjust the production according to the catch and the current market prices to optimize production profit.