MV Voyager was delivered to The Voyager Fishing Company of Kilkeel, Northern Ireland in August this year from the Danish shipyard Karstens Skibverft.  

The vessel is 75.4 m long and 15.6 m wide and has a depth at the main deck of 7.2 m with gross tonnage of 3,100. She is powered by  Wartsila 16V32 engine through a reduction gear driving Lips 4,000 mm diameter propeller. She has two Caterpillar auxillary engines and a shaft generator producing 3,000 kW.  The vessel has a working speed of 17.5 kn and is manned by a crew of 14 people. The fresh water capacity is75 cbm and fuel tank holds 472 cbm.  

The Faroe Islands convened a meeting with EU, Norway and Iceland in London this week to begin negotiations between officials on an agreement for the management of mackerel in 2011. Although a final agreement was not reached, it was decided to meet again at the end of the month to continue consultations.

“I am pleased that the talks in London have been conducted in a constructive and cooperative spirit, and that there is a genuine desire on all sides to find a lasting solution“, said Minister of Fisheries, Jacob Vestergaard. He underlined the need for negotiators to take the quality time necessary to ensure a fair and balanced agreement for the future.

Mackerel and other shared pelagic fish stocks in the Northeast Atlantic have vital importance for the Faroe Islands, where fisheries are the mainstay of the national economy. In the absence of a joint international management arrangement for the stock this year, the Faroe Islands decided to limit mackerel fisheries by the Faroese fleet to 85,000 tonnes, part of which is exchanged with other nations through bilateral fisheries agreements, with a portion also set aside for dedicated research on mackerel in Faroese waters. Other coastal states have also set limits on their respective mackerel fisheries for 2010. Together these unilateral fishing limits far exceed the total catch level recommended by ICES.

The talks between EU, Norway, Iceland and Faroe Islands over mackerel quotas for 2011 going in London this week "could define the future" of Scottish pelagic fishing fleet, according to the Scottish Pelagic Fishermen’s Association and Scottish Fishermen’s Federation.  

Ian Gatt, CEO of the Scottish Pelagic Fishermen’s Association, also urged the parties to find a resolution to ongoing dispute over Iceland and Faroe Islands unilateral quota allocation. “We have seen what uncontrolled fishing has done to the blue whiting stock with the latest scientific advice recommending a huge cut in quota by 93 percent for next year. This must not be allowed to happen to mackerel, and it is essential that a sensible deal is reached this week.”