Arctic Trawling - Westella off Svalbard - Jenny Morgan RSMA

During the late 1950s/1960's new larger trawlers were being built for Hull and Grimsby owners, with new technology and the development of diesel engines replacing the old oil and coal burners. This allowed these ships to venture further in search of fish, often to the higher latitudes beyond Icelandic and Norwegian waters, and as shown in this painting they sailed into Arctic seas where nutrient-rich waters often yielded an abundance of fish like cod.

The trawlers shown here are fishing off the southern shores of the SVALBARD (Spitzbergen Islands) and the background is depicted from actual photographs taken by the artist herself during a trip there in 2011.

The yellow-hulled vessel is the Hull trawler WESTELLA, launched in 1960 and was of 778 gross tons and 189.75 feet in length.