“It’s 4 a.m., with the sun well above the horizon in the Gulf of Alaska. I am 12 miles offshore, getting ready to haul back our fishing gear and, hopefully, a load of halibut. The crew is on deck and ready, the weather is decent, and the morning is much like other summer mornings of my past 30 years — but with one big exception. The quiet.”
In the bustling fishing port of Sitka, Alaska sits the F/V Mirage, a 50-foot steel troller with a brand-new upgrade. In partnership with the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association (ALFA), the fishing vessel received a retrofit with a parallel hybrid diesel-electric system from Transfluid.
Jeff Turner, captain of the newly hybrid-electric F/V Mirage reviews the positive changes of integrating a hybrid system.
