A quality control study made by VSV fishery in Vestmannaeyjar show very good results using OptimICE slurry-ice machine while pumping the catch from a vessel to the processing plant.

Willum Andersen, Technical Operations Manager for the VSV Fishery, welcomed KAPP employees to Vestmannaeyjar and reviewed with them the good results from their QC study using KAPP technology for cooling while landing of catch. 

“We have no doubt, the slurry ice keeps the temperature of the catch at freezing point  through out the landing process.”

Challenges VSV fishery faced to solve:

1) Maintain low temperature

When vessels dock, the RSW cooling is turned off leading to temperature rises in the catch and through out the landing/pumping process.

2) Seawater used was to warm

Seawater used to pump the fish from vessel to the plant is to warm.

3) Portable solution

Due to upcoming constructions at the plant, VSV needed a portable cooling solution that could be moved around the dock.

Part of the pelagic processing line.

 

The KAPP solution:

1) To Maintain temperature by Cooling the blood fluid

When vessels dock, the temperature of the catch is around -1°C. When landing of catch begin, the RSW system is turned off in the Vessel, leading to that temperature rises to 4°C to 6°C in the catch (both fish and blood fluid) while pumping it onshore to the plant. 

This can be a big problem when the pelagic fish is processed for a human consumption. Due to the capacity in our freezing plant it can take from 4-8 hours to finish the landing of the catch, compared to only needing 1-2 hours for landing the same catch by pumping it all into the fishmeal factory. 

Here you can see when the blood fluid is cleaned and cooled with OptimICE liquid ice before returning to the emulsifier to maintain the catch at around 0°C.

 

The KAPP solution

KAPP came up with the OptimIce Slurry-ice container solution to cool the seawater used to pump the catch onshore from the vessel. The seawater mixes blood fluid in a circulation pumping system and it is  cleaned and degreased and cooled down using slurry ice before the water is returned back to the vessel for further landing/pumping of the catch.

Results

Using the OptimIce Slurry-ice container VSV can maintain the cool temperature of the catch at 0°C in stead of it rises to 4°C to 6°C.The quality of the catch is much better and the gained low temperature prevents that a decay process can start in the catch.

Huginn VE 55 landing of mackerel catch in Vestmannaeyjar Iceland.

 

2) WARM SEAWATER COOLED DOWN

While landing the catch, as in the processing plant, VSV needs a lot of water  to pump the catch from one place to another. VSV decides to use seawater from boreholes for this and the problem in the summer time is that the seawater can be up to 10°C warm. Therefore by using this seawater the temperature in the catch rises and its quality decreases.

The solution

The solution is to cool the sea as it is pumped up with OptimICE liquid ice and then pump it into the circulation system that is talked about here in point 1). The same OptimIce machine is used to cool down both the seawater from the boreholes as the blood water in the vessel. 

Results

By using OptimICE liquid ice we can cool the seawater from 10°C down to about 1.1°C.

OptimICE liquid ice container.

 

3) Portable liquid ice container

Due to the fact that VSV has planned to make significant changes to their processing plant building in the near future, it was decides to place the OptimICE liquid machine in a portable container, so it could be moved around their premises as needed from time to time. 

 

Optimice BP-140 liquid ice machine

The liquid ice machine used at the VSV processing plant is very productive and its capacity is enough to produce slurry ice used to support landing of catch of several fully loaded vessels daily. The machine is producing 3-4000 liters per hour.If the performance needs to be increased then a reserve tank can be added or another machine placed into the container solution.

OptimICE BP-140 liquid ice machine.

 

Quality control results

Willum Andersen, Technical operations manager at VSV, says that every single fish we catch, process and deliver at VSV is of the highest Icelandic quality. Therefore we are very pleased with the new OptimIce Slurry-ice Container solution that ensures that the cool-chain never brakes from the fishing to the processing of their catch in their land based plants and factories.

At VSV, inspector Hiroki Igarashi and technical operations manager Willum Andersen.

 

Samples are taken at all landings to assess the quality of the catch and to ensure that the complex and extensive processing system is always at its best. Therefore we can see clearly the good result from cooling with the OptimIce Slurry-ice solution and how it has met our highest expectations.

Mr. Hiroki Igarashi a Japanese QC inspector was taking several measures from the mackerel catch landed from Huginn VE-55 while KAPP employees were visiting. We got his test results shown in table.

A lot of effort is put into quality control and research at the VSV Processing Plant in Vestmannaeyjar.

QC Test results

Temp. in catch from Vessel

At  15:10 = 0.3°C

At  16:10 = 0.1°C

At  18:00 = 0.0°C

At  21:00 = 0.9°C

At  22:30 = 0.4°C

At  00:50 = 0.5°C

At  02:50 = 0.0°C

At  04:30 = 0.0°C

At  07:30 = 0.2°C

At  09:00 = 0.5°C

 

Average TEMP.

4.2°C without cooling

0.3°C with cooling

Seawater temperature 

10.2°C during pumping

1.1°C after cooling

Heimir Halldórsson sales manager at KAPP is very pleased with the results.