Sanford owns and operates 13 deepwater vessels landing quality seafood year-round for people all over New Zealand and the world to enjoy. Our deepwater vessels land, process and freeze fish products at sea.
Our fleet is supported by a sophisticated shore-based support network, designed to ensure that Sanford continues to supply sustainable seafood produced to the highest international standards.
Deepwater Vessels
Sanford owns and operates six deepwater fishing vessels. They are usually found around the Southern Ocean, on fishing expeditions for up to six to eight weeks at a time.
San Enterprise & San Discovery
San Enterprise and San Discovery are stern type deep-sea trawlers and have the ability to produce fillets (block and shatter-pack), H&G, squid tubes, fishmeal and fish oil. These products are processed, packaged and labelled to export standards, including the EU and US markets. The vessels target hoki, ling, hake, warehou and arrow squid.
San Enterprise
San Discovery
The three sister vessels – San Waitaki, San Enterprise and San Discovery – were all built in the same yard in Norway in the early 1990s and extensively upgraded to Sanford’s requirements in 1997 and 1999.
- Call sign: ZMA3161
- Beam: 13m
- Length: 64m
- Gross tonnage: 1,900 tons
- Year built: 1990
- Freezer hold: 940m3
- Meal hold: 178m3
- Accommodation: 49 crew
- Call sign: ZMA6201
- Beam: 13m
- Length: 64m
- Gross tonnage: 1,899 tons
- Year built: 1992
- Freezer hold: 940m3
- Meal hold: 178m3
- Accommodation: 49 crew
San Waitaki
The San Waitaki is a stern type deep-sea trawler and is currently configured to process product in Headed and Gutted (H&G) form. The vessel targets orange roughy, smooth oreo dory and black dory, and can be tasked to enter the arrow squid and hoki fisheries at short notice.
- Call sign: ZMA3176
- Beam: 13m
- Length: 64m
- Gross tonnage: 1,900 tons
- Year built: 1990
- Freezer hold: 940m3
- Meal hold: 178m3
- Accommodation: 50 crew
San Granit
At 67 metres long, the San Granit is the largest vessel of our entire fleet. It is the only twin trawler in our deepwater fleet, which comes with automated horizontal plate freezers and vertical freezers, allowing for large volumes of product to be processed quickly. The San Granit targets mainly hoki and squid.
- Call sign: ZMSG
- Beam: 14m
- Length: 67.4m
- Gross tonnage: 2,387 tons
- Year built: 1989
- Freezer hold: 600m3
- Meal hold: 350m3
- Fish oil hold: 25m3
- Accommodation: 48 crew
San Aspiring
The San Aspiring was built as a combination bottom and surface longliner but is now only used as an automated bottom longliner. This vessel targets and Antarctic toothfish in the Ross Sea and around South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.
- Call sign: ZMGO
- Beam: 12.2m
- Length: 51.2m
- Gross tonnage: 1,508 tons
- Year built: 2001
- Freezer hold: 725m3
- Meal hold: 60m3
- Accommodation: 32 crew
San Aotea II
The San Aotea II is an automated bottom longliner. It targets ling in the Sub-Antarctic, Chatham Rise and off the coast of Southland for nine months of the year. From December through February, the San Aotea II goes fishing for Antarctic toothfish in the Ross Sea. Once the Antarctic toothfish season closes, a scientific survey is carried out to support the Commission for Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR).
- Call sign: ZM2534
- Beam: 10.8m
- Length: 46.5m
- Gross tonnage: 1,079 tons
- Year built: 1993
- Freezer hold: 515m3
- Meal hold: 100m3
- Accommodation: 25 crew
Scampi Vessels
Sanford owns and operates six deepwater fishing vessels. They are usually found around the Southern Ocean, on fishing expeditions for up to six to eight weeks at a time.
The Albatross II, Drysdale, Venture K and San Tangaroa go on fishing voyages up to six weeks at a time. Scampi is landed from the Chatham Rise, Chatham and Auckland Islands and delivered to our Bluff and Timaru seafood processing sites.
The San Aramand goes on fishing voyages up to four weeks at a time. Scampi is landed off the east coast of the Bay of Plenty, and the Hawkes Bay and Wairarapa coast, with most of the catch exported directly out of Tauranga. The San Tongariro was originally a stern-type inshore trawler that has been converted into a deepwater scampi trawler.
San Koura Rangi
- Breadth: 10.30m
- Length: 32m
- Gross tonnage: 498 tons
- Year built: 2024
- Accommodation: 10
San Tongariro
- Breadth: 10m
- Length: 32m
- Gross tonnage: 498 tons
- Year built: 1996
- Accommodation: 5
- Total engine power: 1,051kw
Albatross II
- Call sign: ZM2675
- Beam: 7.76m
- Length: 24.97m
- Gross tonnage: 143 tons
- Year built: 1984
- Product capacity: 35 tons
- Accommodation: 6 crew
Drysdale
- Call sign: ZM2842
- Beam: 7.55m
- Length: 24.9m
- Gross tonnage: 222 tons
- Year built: 1986
- Product capacity: 35 tons
- Accommodation: 6 crew
San Aramand
- Call sign: ZMG3486
- Beam: 7.5m
- Length: 19.95m
- Gross tonnage: 125 tons
- Year built: 2000
- Product capacity: 14 tons
- Accommodation: 6 crew
Venture K
- Call sign: ZM2037
- Beam: 6.4m
- Length: 25.3m
- Gross tonnage: 129 tons
- Year built: 1985
- Product capacity: 40 tons
- Accommodation: 6 crew
San Tangaroa
- Call sign: ZMA2633
- Beam: 8.10m
- Length: 26m
- Gross tonnage: 202 tons
- Year built: 1984
- Product capacity: 30 tons
- Accommodation: 8 crew
Freezer Fleet
Sanford’s deepwater and scampi vessels all freeze and pack the catch onboard as soon as it is landed. In Timaru, our joint venture San Won storage facility enables vessels to discharge directly into the wharf side coldstore.
Fishing Partnerships Fleet
We contract well operated New Zealand fishing vessels to complement our own fleet, as it’s a sensible and economically viable way to catch some of our quota, given the variable and seasonal nature of some of our fisheries. We contract these vessels as part of our long-standing business relationships with Dong Won New Zealand Ltd, JAICO Limited and their parent companies based in South Korea. The fishing partnerships fleet consists of four trawlers targeting mainly arrow squid, barracouta and other species. The fishing partnership vessels range in size from 55 meters to 59 meters long. They typically have a crew of 40 and stay out at sea for up to 35 days.