North Eastern Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (NEIFCA) has teamed up with renowned regional boat builder Parkol Marine to develop a first-of-its-kind new survey and patrol vessel.
Developed in partnership with leading UK naval architect Chartwell Marine, the new boat will dramatically boost the organisation’s capabilities at a crucial time for the region’s fisheries.
And it is hoped the vessel, which is yet to be named and is due to be commissioned in the Spring of 2025, will become a blueprint for fellow inshore fisheries and conservation authorities around the UK, which are facing similar challenges in conserving the nation’s marine environments and maintaining supplies of fish and shellfish.
Nine years in the planning, this will be the fourth generation of inshore fisheries patrol vessel, with a heritage going back to 1890 when the then Sea Fisheries Committee was established. The first inshore patrol boat, powered by steam, set sail in 1905.
The new boat, which will replace the current vessel North Eastern Guardian III (NEG III), marks a major milestone for North Eastern IFCA (NEIFCA) and will boast a number of firsts, combining to make it faster, more environmentally-friendly and capable of providing the kind of detailed data on the area’s marine life which has not been possible up to now. This will enable the organisation to better plot trends in marine life and strategise to protect and diversify it in the future.
