The hull of the 86-metre trawler Lunar Bow was launched last Friday from slipway B3 at Karstensen Shipyard Poland in Gdańsk, in the presence of invited guests and numerous spectators. For the shipyard, the launch was symbolic for several reasons.

Lunar Bow entered the water at Karstensen Shipyard Poland shortly after 11 a.m. The vessel was launched using slipway B3. Once the hull slid into the water, it was taken over by tugboats, which moved it to the shipyard's quay, where the vessel will be fitted out over the coming weeks.

Lunar Bow is a fishing vessel, a trawler/purse seiner measuring 86 metres in length and 17.5 metres in beam. Its draught will be up to 6 metres. The vessel will have 14 holds with chilled seawater for storing the catch, with a combined capacity of 3,165 cubic metres. Its home port will be Peterhead, Scotland.

For the shipyard, the project is special for several reasons. First, Lunar Bow carries the round construction number #500. Second, it is the fourth vessel built by Polish shipyard Karstensen for Scottish owner Lunar Fishing, and the eighth vessel built by the Karstensen shipbuilding group for the same owner.

There is another link to the shipyard's history. The first hull launched by Karstensen Shipyard Poland, back in 2019 when the shipyard was still operating in Gdynia, was also named Lunar Bow and was built for the same customer. Seven years later, the story has come full circle. The previous Lunar Bow carried construction number #450.

During his speech at Friday's launch, Tomasz Mulica, Managing Director of Karstensen Shipyard Poland, joked that the shipowner should already reserve construction number #550. Representatives of Lunar Fishing – Alex Buchan, AJ Buchan and Michael Willox – also attended the ceremony.

The launch, which began at 11 a.m. on Friday, 11 September, was the fourth launch operation at Karstensen Shipyard Poland this year, the 19th since the shipyard moved to Gdańsk, and the 44th in the shipyard's history.

One more launch is scheduled for this year. At the turn of November and December, the hull of the Sæbjørn, construction number #493, is due to be launched from slipway B1.