In 2025, Sørkapp became the first Norwegian vessel to land a gross catch value above 300 million kroner. Behind that number is a skilled crew, the right equipment, and a partnership built on aftermarket support that can make or break performance at sea.
Kenneth Holmøy walks into Seaonics' training lab in Ålesund like someone who's been here before. He stops to greet one of the engineers, asks a question, listens to the answer, moves on. He's the kind of Managing Director who shows up to learn something, not to be hosted.
He runs Nergård Havfiske, Norway's second-largest cod quota holder, three modern stern trawlers working the Barents Sea. Last year, the group turned over 4.5 billion NOK.
All Electric
When Nergård commissioned three new trawlers between 2020 and 2024, they made a deliberate break with tradition. Out went hydraulic systems. In came Seaonics electric winch package and deck cranes: to improve catch speeds, dynamic performance, no oil leaks and power regeneration back to the vessel.
The impact quickly became visible across several areas of the operation. In shrimp processing, Nergård has gone from cooking and packaging 15% of the catch on board in 2022 to more than 80% today. Competitors once said it was impossible to produce one-kilo packages of shrimp at sea.
Holmøy is quick to point out that technology alone does not create results.
“The most important thing on board is always the crew,” Holmøy says. "They are the ones doing the job. But the crew cannot perform at their best unless the equipment works as intended. Full stop.”
What Holmøy talks about most isn't the technology spec. It's the rhythm of the relationship. A local service partner of Seaonics in Tromsø. Engineers and mechanics at Seaonics who know the vessels. A support structure built around what actually happens when you're fishing the Barents Sea in January.
The partnership hasn't always been frictionless. There were hard conversations along the way. Seaonics listened and built the structure differently.
"I notice it most as a manager," he says. "When something goes wrong with a supplier, I'm the one who gets the call. Today? I hear nothing. By the time I'd know there was a problem, it's already been handled. That's what it's supposed to look like."
Near the end of the conversation, the obvious question: if Nergård were commissioning new vessels today, would they choose Seaonics?
He doesn’t hesitate:
Nergård Havfiske operates Senja, Breidtind, and Sørkapp, all equipped with Seaonics electric handling systems, fishing the Barents Sea and North Atlantic.
Nergård Havfiske has signed a Premium Service Level Agreement (SLA) with Seaonics.
Behind every piece of equipment delivered by SEAONICS is a team ensuring it performs exactly as it should.
In 2013, we installed our first offshore crane on the Norside Supporter. Fast forward to today, that same crane is installed aboard the upgraded Argeo Venture, and Norside Supporter have received the ECMC Crane.