Whitby's Parkol Marine wins tender for new multi-million pound sea fisheries survey and patrol vessel

North Eastern Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (NEIFCA) has teamed up with Parkol to develop a first-of-its kind new survey and patrol vessel in a multi-million-pound investment which will help safeguard region’s fishing industry and marine environments for decades to come.

Developed in partnership with naval architects 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 spring 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 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.

Capable of travelling up to 60 nautical miles offshore, the new boat will also play a key role in supporting the work of partner organisations where there is an urgent need, such as responding to extreme marine environmental events.

David McCandless, Chief Officer for IFCA, said it was “a huge feather in the cap” for the region’s fisheries that, following a hugely competitive international tender process, this vessel was going to be built by Parkol.

“We’re hugely excited about watching the boat take shape over the next year-and-a-half, and then seeing the difference it can make,” he said.

The vessel is the most significant example yet of Parkol’s diversification into working vessel and cargo ship construction, in addition to the state-of-the-art fishing vessels it has built its reputation on.

Sally Atkinson, Parkol Marine’s Commercial Director, added: “We’re absolutely delighted to have been granted this opportunity, which represents a number of firsts for Parkol Marine – it is the first catamaran, first Government tender that the company has won and is the first workboat of this type.

"It is also the first time we have worked with Chartwell Marine and their innovative style of ship design.

"The contract provides us with an opportunity to nurture home-grown skills with our existing aluminium welders/fabricators, and also to recruit dedicated aluminium specialists and an apprentice utilising our established apprenticeship programme.

“It’s also the first competitive public tender we’ve bid for and to have won it is a fantastic achievement.

"There is an increasing amount of optimism in the UK fishing and shipbuilding industries and we’re delighted to be part of that, working with new suppliers to increase our already-significant knowledge and experience and hopefully creating more job opportunities and further expanding our skill base.”