Karstensen Shipyard Poland in Gdańsk launched its first ship of 2026 just last week. On Friday 6th of March, the hull of a fishing vessel Lerkur was slipped onto the water.

Lerkur is a new pelagic fishing vessel under construction at the yard. The Gdańsk facility built the vessel’s hull, which was launched shortly before noon on 6th of March. The launch was not open to the public.

According to the schedule, at exactly 10:00 the 44.1-metre hull of Lerkur began sliding down slipway B1 into the water. Once the vessel, bearing yard number 487, was afloat, shipyard personnel on board checked the tightness of all tanks. After leaving the slipway, the hull was secured by two pusher tugs — Nosorożec G-02 and Tur W-01. Their task was to secure the drifting hull, bring it alongside the yard’s outfitting quay and close the slipway gate.

The vessel will remain alongside the yard’s quay for several more days before being towed to Denmark, where it will undergo final outfitting. Delivery to the client is expected in the second half of the year.

Lerkur is a pelagic fishing vessel that has been under construction at Karstensen Shipyard Poland since autumn last year. The vessel has been ordered by Framherji, one of the leading fishing and processing companies in the Faroe Islands. The vessel has an overall length of 44.1 metres, a beam of 11.5 metres, a draught of up to 4.6 metres and a gross tonnage of 900. Its home port will be Fuglafjørður.

The vessel will be used to catch pelagic species including mackerel, herring, blue whiting and capelin. It will also be equipped for initial onboard processing, including preliminary filleting and deep freezing. A processing line will handle the first stage of fish preparation before the catch is frozen in blocks and stored in a 465 m³ cargo hold maintained at –20°C.

Lerkur is the second vessel in a series being built by the yard. The sister hull, yard number 486, was launched in Gdańsk in autumn last year and was towed to Denmark for outfitting in September.