62-foot vessel to follow in footsteps of T/V King Island and be built in Homer
NOME – Norton Sound Economic Development Corporation (NSEDC) is proud to announce that our newest tender vessel will bear a name that reflects a distinct part of our region.
Keeping with a tradition of naming Norton Sound Seafood Products (NSSP) tender vessels in honor of the areas, places, and islands in the Norton Sound region and people NSEDC serves, the newest addition to the fleet will be named the T/V St. Lawrence. In designating the name, the NSEDC Board of Directors also asked for recognition of the Siberian Yupik name of the island that is home to two of NSEDC’s 15 member communities, Gambell and Savoonga. To fulfill that request, “Sivuqaq” will be written along with the English name on the vessel.
NSEDC received a wide array of suggestions for the vessel’s name from member community residents. Ultimately, the board of directors selected a name that was put forward by one of its own, NSEDC Gambell Representative Joel James. “We very much appreciated all the name submissions that we received from member community residents,” said NSEDC Board Chairman Dan Harrelson. “There were several great suggestions, making it difficult to choose. But in the end, the board felt that St. Lawrence was a great choice that will honor communities that have not yet been recognized in our fleet.”
Fishermen from both Savoonga and Gambell participate in commercial halibut fishing, delivering their catch to the seasonal NSSP plant in Savoonga. The island and communities are a place of strong traditions, where Siberian Yupik is the predominant language and subsistence plays an important role in everyday life.
The T/V St. Lawrence will join six vessels in NSEDC’s fleet: T/V Paul C. Johnson, T/V Breakaway, T/V Egavik, T/V King Island, T/V Besboro, and T/V Norton Bay. After many years of loyal service, NSEDC plans to retire the T/V Inaliq this year.
The new vessel will follow in the footsteps of the T/V King Island in being built by Bay Weld Boats in Homer. The new 62-foot vessel will serve the commercial salmon and crab fishermen of the Norton Sound region with the ability to carry 25,000 pounds of crab and 70,000 pounds of salmon in her refrigerated seawater tanks. She is expected to go into service in June 2017.
For more information on the T/V St. Lawrence and NSEDC’s tender vessel fleet, contact Vessel Manager Karl Erickson at (907) 624-3190 or karl@nsedc.com.
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