Sanford owns and operates 13 deepwater and inshore 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.
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 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 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
Call sign: ZMA3161
Accommodation: 49 crew
San Discovery
Call sign: ZMA6201
Gross tonnage: 1,899 tons
Year built: 1992
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.
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
Sanford today owns one inshore fishing vessel.
Inshore vessels typically have crews of four or five and spend the least amount of time at sea as possible to ensure the fish is landed fresh.
San Rakaia
The San Rakaia is a stern-type inshore trawler.
Breadth: 10m
Length: 32m
Gross tonnage: 498 tons
Year built: 1997
Crew: 5
Total engine power: 1,051kw
Sanford owns and operate five smaller deep-sea trawlers that target scampi throughout New Zealand waters. All products are processed, frozen and packed at sea.
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.
San Tongariro
The San Tongariro was originally a stern-type inshore trawler that has been converted into a deepwater scampi trawler.
Year built: 1996
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
Venture K
Call sign: ZM2037
Beam: 6.4m
Length: 25.3m
Gross tonnage: 129 tons
Year built: 1985
Product capacity: 40 tons
San Tangaroa
Call sign: ZMA2633
Beam: 8.10m
Length: 26m
Gross tonnage: 202 tons
Product capacity: 30 tons
Accommodation: 8 crew
San Aramand
Call sign: ZMG3486
Beam: 7.5m
Length: 19.95m
Gross tonnage: 125 tons
Year built: 2000
Product capacity: 14 tons
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 DW 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.
