Katrine has ambition to be skipper

Daughter of the sea

Seventeen-year-old Norwegian already has her own vessel and is building on her family’s fishing traditions.

  • Text:Communication Department

    Photo:@Kongsberg Maritime

  • Gunvor Hatling Midtbø
    Vice President, Communications
    +47 99 21 42 09
Katrine Sekkingstad 

In fact, she is already on the way to achieving that ambition. When she was 16 her father, Arild, bought Katrine her own boat, the 36-foot OMA which she now operates around the waters of Lofoten, catching mackerel, herring and cod. At the same time she is learning the ins and outs of the fishing profession through an apprenticeship on her father’s vessel, MS Radek.

Katrine’s brother, Endre, is also part of the crew and she believes her family’s strong fishing background will be a boon as she develops her career. Katrine says: “My father bought his first fishing vessel when he was 16 and then built his business. I look up to him very much.

“I don’t think becoming a skipper will be as difficult for me as it was for him, because he is a big help to me and takes care of everything.”
Katrine Sekkingstad

At home, Katrine has similar interests to her peers. But fishing is her passion and she loves being out on a boat. She says: “It’s difficult to stay away from the internet at home. However, it’s always good to take a little break from the phone. “Of course, I get homesick when I’m out, and miss my friends and my family. At the same time, I really enjoy the company of the people on board. As well as my father and brother, there are lots of other people to spend time with. You certainly get to know each other well.”

When she was 16 her father, Arild, bought Katrine her own boat, the 36-foot OMA which she now operates around the waters of Lofoten, catching mackerel, herring and cod.

Adept with technology

Like many of her generation, Katrine is adept when it comes to living with and handling technology. Her father’s firm is a long-standing Kongsberg Maritime customer, and she is impressed by the sophistication of the equipment that is available today. 

“I would never claim to be an expert, but technology is important and it needs to work every time. Luckily, the devices we have now are very good,” she says. “For example, Kongsberg Maritime’s Simrad SY50 sonar we use on OMA makes it easy to find and identify fish. Radar is the most important piece of equipment to have when you’re out and I really like the map machines, which I probably use most of all.” She has noticed the profession’s increasing dependence on automation. She says: “Technology continues to get better and things will never return to how they were – there will just be more and more technology. But there can never be too much!”

“I grew up being out on boats for ten years and couldn’t imagine having any other job. I love the work and my little vessel. It’s wonderful to be at sea because I find it relaxes me and I love the nature that surrounds me. I’d rather go fishing than shopping any day.”

Care of the environment 

While technology is becoming more abundant, sadly the same can’t be said for the world’s fish stocks. Needless to say, preservation is a subject that is close to Katrine’s heart. “We have quotas, so I don’t think we will be fished out. Hopefully, if there are fewer fish in the sea the authorities will lower the quotas. There are heavy fines if you over-fish and that seems right to me.

“Norway is very strict about quotas while other countries are more relaxed. It’s silly that different countries don't work together. Take a stock like mackerel. Normally, we’d go out in the autumn, but now we have to spend our whole summer fishing and there’s no guarantee on what we’ll catch. Countries must cooperate to take better care of the environment.”

Equally important, she says, quotas must make sense to eliminate unnecessary sailing.

“For example, if someone is given a large quota but only has five hundred cubic metres of space on board, they end up making many trips to fulfil that quota. Of course, that means more pollution and it takes much longer.” Despite the challenges, Katrine is a true daughter of the sea. She concludes: “I grew up being out on boats for ten years and couldn’t imagine having any other job. I love the work and my little vessel. It’s wonderful to be at sea because I find it relaxes me and I love the nature that surrounds me. I’d rather go fishing than shopping any day.”

Today, he owns two vessels – MS Radek and the former MS Harvest, which is being renamed MS Hargo. Both boats have been fitted with Kongsberg Maritime’s Simrad SU93 fish-finding sonar. 

A third vessel is currently under construction in Turkey. A Kongsberg Maritime design, this new vessel will also be equipped with a variety of KONGSBERG equipment, including the ST93 hull unit, ES80 sounder, FS70 trawl sonar and PX catch monitoring systems.