DEEP SEA FISHING - Hard Work On The High Seas | Full Documentary

german deep sea fishermen working in extreme conditions through wind and storm day and night the hunt for black halibut leads the crew all the way to greenland up to minus 20 degrees celsius is okay if you work here you're probably already a little crazy and a little tougher in general the ships are specially constructed to handle loads over 1000 metric tons and are equipped for the roughest seas they have to take more load from the sea and the bed rather than many other westerns it takes approximately one year to build one of these state-of-the-art ships below deck the processing plant fish is processed here 24 hours a day despite the huge quantities precision is key these are going straight to the customer if i mess up the packaging then we have a real problem it has to be just right the tail can't be too long or too short this voyage's final destination west greenland after you've been out for three or four days and torn through a thousand miles you start to understand how big it is the crew members must trust each other blindly we're one big family here otherwise the work wouldn't get done there's a lot that needs attention since everything is changing constantly fishing in extreme conditions can mean big consequences even for small errors of course the worst thing would be if the main engine failed if there was a blackout and everything went dark there's really nothing we can do now [Music] the german ocean trawler mark is moored at the jetty of the fishing harbor in bremerhoff in germany in a few hours it will head to greenland at nearly 100 meters long and 16 meters wide the ship is one of the largest ocean trawlers in the german fleet the crew loads up the ship with supplies among them tons of food a stock to last weeks even months captain sasha fanstad is tense the clock is ticking and he's still waiting on a food truck we're held up the truck is probably stuck in traffic on the highway the ship's company boards and packs up the supplies the food has to last for months vitamins are especially important cook sebastian vorpitz make sure everything is stowed correctly i'd say due to the temperatures we have here we can count on the fresh fruit and vegetables lasting up to two months he's known as the chief on board the ship's life insurance policy for the north atlantic seas is its heavy-duty diesel fuel providing over 5000 horsepower to counter wind and waves the ocean trawler mark will travel to west greenland where it will fish for black halibut the journey to the fishing area is long the crew has more than 2 000 nautical miles ahead of it a stern the second steersman checks that the trawl door has been correctly secured during fishing these steel boards which weigh tons keep the nets apart on the last voyage the nets came loose during a storm this is just one of the officer's many tasks i'm second stairsman which means i take care of everything i'm the ship's handyman so to speak i take care of injuries make sure stock is taken i take care of orders things on deck and if they need someone in the plant i take care of that too sasha fonsta is tense the truck carrying the rest of the supplies still hasn't arrived the problem is that our departure window at the lock lasts until 4pm at that point we stopped being a priority and we have to wait for the tide to come back in since it's out and we're in too deep how long 12 hours a delay is looming not a good start for the journey fishing is money and every day counts the supply truck has arrived now it's a matter of minutes in the engine room chief jan prusing starts the diesel engine outside the first steersman surveys the loading from the ship's bridge hundreds of kilograms of supplies the lock's deadline is getting closer and closer how much time only about 10 minutes the ship is all clear to set sail the crew gets to work loosening the heavy ropes on the bridge the harbor pilot is now in control the double lock for the mark the ocean trawler mark sets off the time is nearly up only minutes remain just made it the trawler sets course for the north once the ship reaches the vasa river the harbor pilot disembarks his job is done the journey begins it will be a week before they arrive in greenland the sailors will need the time to prepare the ship some two thousand nautical miles lie between the men and the fishing area first captain sasha fonsta will steer the ship towards scotland and then make course for west greenland from now on the ship's bridge is occupied around the clock business tomorrow morning we'll already be past the german bite now we're heading towards pentland and then on towards west greenland ocean trawlers are specially made ships they're constructed in shipyards like this one in gdenia poland the german fishing union company has chosen to build their latest generation of ships here they will enhance the german deep sea fishing fleet this is a site of massive proportions where thousands of tons of steel are produced and welded soon the ships will be afloat across the world seas so they need to be able to handle some pressure they have to take more load from the sea and fat weather than many other vessels it will be months before these ships are launched but even then they will just be shells the german fleet's ocean trawlers are only brought to buoyancy here in poland there's a separate shipyard which will build the ship's interior and technology this shell appears finished from the outside but it's an illusion after the dry dock has been flooded it can only barely float on water still the ship is preparing for its first big voyage in which it will be hauled along to norway then we're going from here to to norway to ulstenwick as a shipyard who is going to finish the whole with the last equipment and everything and the dry dock will be pumped full of millions of liters of water over the next few hours this will determine whether the ship frame will stay afloat ocean trawler cooks hoffen is undergoing its first performance test there's a nervousness among the shipyard workers the water level rises slowly as a safety precaution the ship is also being suspended by a crane by the evening the dry dock has been almost completely flooded the ship is now surrounded by water and it floats however the ship is still being suspended a tugboat is being prepared to haul the ship to norway [Music] ocean trawler mark is on its way to west greenland it's mario fett's turn on the bridge the first steersman is on nightwatch outside it's stormy waves several meters high are breaking against the ship on the north sea the weather's often rough biting winds and ice cold water for ocean trawler mark these conditions are no problem at all the weather is getting increasingly chilly and the wind is rising steadily we're at a solid eight nine right now the weather is also known to be stormy in the fishing area of west greenland where fish are caught despite the unfavorable conditions you can still find fish at 8 to 10 meters but at some point after that it starts to get sketchy you have to watch out for the direction of the sea current on board life begins at sunrise sailor oceldix is doing his rounds waking up the crew boy escape from me tight let the sparks [Music] betty [Music] some people just don't want to wake up they'll say yes but then they go straight back to sleep good morning cook sebastian voipetz is responsible for meals his day begins at 5 a.m with breakfast for breakfast it's pancakes for 20 people portions on board are somewhat bigger the stove is on 24 hours a day to ensure that there are no delays you always keep the two main burners on a low setting so that you can come down in the morning and turn it on and have the stove up and running in half an hour instead of an hour and a half must cook three meals a day and make sure that there's something edible on offer around the clock today i'm making pancakes first crack the eggs and put the flour in mix it all together and then fry the pancakes now we're looking for all the ingredients so we can start food is important for morale especially at sea sebastian vorpitz knows this well he always tries to provide for the crew's wishes no easy task the team has a lot to do after breakfast they go upstairs to work on deck as soon as they start fishing the men work in shifts therefore it's always someone's turn to work and someone's turn to eat for the cook that's a real challenge of course it's impossible to satisfy everyone's taste the boys will come from different places and some of them like it like this and some of them like it like that but you also have people on board who usually cook themselves as they say everyone can cook except the cook i was on standard sports below deck the crew members are preparing for their shifts dennis bachat is the ship's foreman or boson as he's known on board this is his first voyage in this new role in the engine room the chief is adjusting the engines from now on the ship will run on heavy fuel which is a lot cheaper but only permitted outside of coastal waters the heavy fuel is thicker and must be kept warm non-stop in the galley the cook is planning lunch sailor axel dix is lending a hand until fishing starts they're both battling the weather man what a shaky ride this is today here we go again that's quite the day today again oh no stupid egg packaging keep you cool usually any chopped up bio waste goes overboard you can't throw it here it'll end up elsewhere hey man i've got the eggs here can't do it the ocean trawler mark is now three days into its voyage before it reaches the fishing area it will pick up more sailors at the port of nuke in greenland last night's storm has cost the crew time and captain sasha fonsta must make sure they arrive promptly he doesn't have a lot of leeway i'd estimate that we lost six hours due to the weather but we're still on track i think we can still make it to nuke on time the sailors begin their work on deck they must prepare the ship for fishing which doesn't allow for much downtime fishing boats must work in order to be profitable dennis bachat is the foreman on this voyage as bosun he leads a team and is responsible for his men yeah you definitely have a bit more responsibility before it was always just a matter of standing around and doing what you were told someone else was in charge and you just followed the orders but when you're in charge yourself it's a completely different thing the sailors create space on deck for the nets to do this they must move tons of material without the heavy wind glasses it won't work on board the injury risk is high these bearings which hold down the nets weigh over 50 kilos each you can move them on your own but when they fall on your foot it hurts the sailors are wearing safety boots and helmets still the work is dangerous out at sea carelessness or little mistakes can have serious consequences below deck the fish processing plant is being set up here fish manager tostan neupat is in charge he's one of the two fish managers on board the plant was rebuilt and expanded back at the port it's updated for each new catch now everything must be set up afresh tostan neupat pays close attention mistakes made now can be fatal later there's still a lot of preparatory work to be done we do it systematically first tackling the most difficult things and areas which could turn up any errors then we do the smaller jobs the fine tuning at the end the plant should be ready for the first catch so we can get going immediately on board steel cables are being spliced back breaking work which involves weaving several individual steel strands into one thick rope the sailors build a device which can undo even the strongest cables this rope called the troll warp will later support the net so it must be able to withstand immense pressure there was a kink in the troll wall meaning that if we're fishing and it's under tension it could tear so we're changing it now and splicing it again then we'll splice both lines together and remove the damaged part if it all tears once we're already fishing that would cause a much bigger headache than if we re-splice it now in the fish processing plant the fish manager continues his inspection the cold room is located deep in the bowels of the ship [Music] the temperature keeps going down we're still ramping it up but soon it will be minus 30 degrees celsius in here which is something else but if we really have stuff to do then you'll be sweating at minus 30. now alex meanwhile the sailors have secured the trawl warp now they turn the large steel wheel to unravel the individual strands then the ends are pulled in and spliced together later this cable will support the fishing net it must not tear under any circumstances if this were to happen it would constitute a mortal danger for the sailors here you can see just how thick these cables are it's not something that you pull cars with it needs to be really strong these cables have to take several bars of pressure that's why you have to trust yourself and your colleagues we have to work together here and if we don't then it just won't work [Music] on board camaraderie is emphasized the men can be at sea for months they help each other out wherever they can i just asked if anyone knows how to do it and here we are there are some guys who do it themselves and then of course others who don't know how to cut their own hair in which case they help each other out but being away from home isn't always easy it can be a burden for the sailors [Music] i don't think you can really imagine the extent to which you're deprived of things out here you can't help if there are problems at home sometimes it's really hard you're here your wife is at home with some big problem and you can't do anything about it all you can do is console her on the phone what kind of consolation is that it sucks the crew prepares the deck for fishing the troll doors must be fastened onto heavy chains soon they will be attached to the outside of the ship each trawl door weighs six tons during fishing they are dragged along the ocean floor the doors keep the nets stretched out it has to be exactly six meters now the other side that's how the captain wants it so the troll doors are placed correctly the troll doors run parallel to each other in the water at a depth of over a thousand meters still a difference of a few centimeters can determine whether they work properly or not if these steel doors aren't placed correctly in the water fewer fish will come into the net handling the doors on deck can be dangerous when you're moving the troll doors you have to make sure everyone is out of the way when the sea moves them around and the ship veers if anyone's standing there they can get hit pretty bad at the shipyard in gadina workers are preparing to transport a ship shell the ship is being tugged to norway for final assembly the preparations lasted the entire night such a giant ship requires the highest precision the ocean trawlers being pulled by the tugboat fenya whose home port is copenhagen in denmark with a length of 34 meters it's a heavyweight in its own right now they are connecting the truck to our boats and preparing for towing to norway the tugboat is now practically touching the trawler down below a man takes hold of the line the ship is still attached to heavy crane ropes you hear behind us it's a lot of heavy canes because the vessel the hull is very heavy and have to be the towing lines of the on the canes have to be strong enough to to stand all the weather condition they might meet on the way the ship is still being supported by a crane later however just one tugboat will haul the trawler across the open sea to norway the crane lowers a heavy chain onto the trawler the chain is attached to a guide rope which will latch onto the tugboat the chain which weighs several tons is secured by means of a lock the next day the cook's hoffen is ready for its voyage two tugboats transport the shell out onto the open sea just one of them will take the ship onwards to norway if the weather complies the journey to norway lasts five days once there the ship will be fully equipped six months later the brand new ocean trawler will be ready for action ocean trawler mark has arrived at the southern tip of greenland in the north atlantic ocean icebergs pass by a grave danger for ships icebergs are common in these waters they break off on the greenland coast and then float around the open sea the bridge requires exceptional vigilance the ocean trawler mark has almost reached its destination the port of nuke is only a day's journey away but the coastal icebergs pose a real threat for the trawler not all of them are detected by the radar system what's also dangerous about icebergs is that they have a large radius and usually the ice is 7 8 below the water you can't let yourself be fooled by thinking the ice you see above the water is all the ice that's there you can't get too close to them it definitely can't make contact at best the ship gets a dent at worse the ship is done for meaning there's water in the ship which is something we always want to avoid in the fish processing plant nothing works without water fish manager toston noipat checks the appliances from the first catch onwards everything has to run smoothly soon the conveyor belts will bring the catch directly to the workstations 24 hours a day hold ups mean losses velocity is now we're running through all the technical operations which we use during the halibut processing to correct mistakes improve things and wash everything down properly and see if any mistakes crop up which we can deal with before tomorrow while we still have time and then after that we can start processing on deck final preparations are made later the nets will be attached to a heavy steel cable called a troll warp the men have already re-spliced the cable which is one kilometer long now it's being rolled up again the steel cable itself extremely heavy is attached to heavy chains the troll doors weigh six metric tons each soon this will be increased by the weight of the nets and maybe a big catch the equipment must withstand huge forces boson dennis bachat is in charge of all the equipment as foreman the buck stops with him down on deck this demands concentration especially when dealing with chains and ropes under pressure if you take a chain to the head even with a helmet it's dangerous there's several tons of pressure there the troll doors are under water and will later be fixed to the ship's stern they keep the net stretched out underwater the sailors on board are patching any remaining holes in the net it's a real craft like knitting with a jumbo sized needle years of practice turn the sailors into pros during the catch this will all have to happen lightning fast every minute counts even if the voyage lasts weeks and months if the nets are defective money is lost the ocean trawler is entering the fjord of the port city of nuke within hours it will have reached its destination in the galley axel diox and cook sebastian voipitz are preparing the next meal look axl shall we make big or small ones i think the small ones are enough right i'll cut the pork chops wait get the chops out i'll take a slightly bigger inset ocean trawler mark is approaching the greenland port city of nuke where it will pick up more sailors who have arrived from germany via plane their last fishing voyage was only one week ago above nuke bay the northern lights are flashing the crew lowers the dinghy into the water to save time this dinghy will pick up the latecomers at the pier nine sailors have joined from germany the mark's crew is now complete from now on the 29 men will be traveling together after a few hours the ship turns back towards the open sea the captain takes course for the fishing area we still have around 110 miles ahead of us and then we'll finally get to work [Music] the next morning ocean trawler mark arrives at the fishing area west of greenland seven days after setting sail the team is fired up until now there's been plenty of work but no real income the men each have a stake in the catch a good catch means good money twenty-eight-year-old janice kruger joined the crew in greenland he was 15 when he first went to sea his last shore leave was short only one week the last voyage i was on lasted 90 days is preoccupied with fishing but new icebergs have been spotted he must be careful the radar is not a guarantee watching from the lookout is always crucial there are icebergs which have been heavily washed away and are therefore undetectable by the radar if we hit an iceberg at 15 knots then the front of the ship will be badly disfigured and the journey must be cut short bosun dennis bachat is checking the nets the team is laying both nets out on deck they will use the nets to catch the black halibut at depths of over 1 000 meters there's another ship in the fishing area it's also part of the german fleet but it will go home shortly the sister ship had a good catch our gears ready for fishing and we're all clear for our first catch i'm glad we're getting going the reports aren't bad so far between 15 and 17 metric tons a day that's pretty decent i'm always happy when it finally gets going the fishing area has been reached fishing will begin in just a few hours the ship has state-of-the-art equipment even the fishing net relies on technical assistance bosun dennis bahat attaches sensors which will show the captain how the net is running above ground he can use this to draw some conclusions but he can't see everything we're fishing according to depth here we're scouting out different depths and seeing what they produce we'll adjust our fishing location equipment and go a bit deeper or shallower depending on what we find up here is a depth of 260 to 70 to 80 meters it's a long plateau and then here it goes down to 1 200 meters we're basically fishing on this voyage the permitted catch quota is 765 metric tons if this is not achieved within the time frame then the voyage is a failure nerves are running high what are you doing with the batteries you're just taking them for a stroll the day has 24 hours and you have to use them as sensibly as possible playing around is no good you have to use the time as efficiently as possible it starts with every action on deck and carries on up here on the bridge ocean denis must hurry to finally get the net in the second net must also be ready so that one of them is in the water at all times finally seven days after setting sail at bremerhaufen the first net is lowered into the water the sailors let it down slowly from the side the crew checks that everything's running smoothly meter by meter the net sinks down into the water suddenly the net gets caught the cables are snagged on the reel valuable time is passing dennis bachat takes a crowbar and releases the steel cable both nets must be ready the net is lowered into the water the cables which attach to the catch equipment are three kilometers long today the net will sink up to one thousand meters into the ocean the heavy troll doors sink down with the net and keep it from tangling underwater at the same time they herd the fish to the front of the net due to the water pressure building up it takes the equipment half an hour to reach floor level the fishing has begun the atmosphere on board is a mixture of routine and nervousness now the crushed bio waste can finally be dealt with you've got to give it a proper swing push it downwards and it's off but when you have a serious breeze you have to be careful not to get everything in your face or let it fly across deck [Music] like there is morning axel you're back sailor oxendiax tries his hand at plumbing the heated basin's drain is clogged that's clogged now we put the fresh water in if i can find it what's the problem this time a bit of crap just came up now we have to clean everything i'll get a bucket in class give me that yeah it's all obstructed here axel calm down the mark is dispatching its first net of the tour the captain is aided by a lot of technology but experience is still needed the technology is definitely helpful before when captains could only work with echo sound as it took years to master it nowadays it takes less time to target but to be a successful fisherman it's not enough to just work through an axle table it just won't work there's no replacement for experience the catch sensor is showing up on the monitor something big is in the net we were just panicking that the net is broken and now the second sensor is showing everything's back to normal soon we can see what's in there the crew is preparing for the final haul of the voyage the sailors wear oil skins and helmets when working on deck it's slippery and heavy swells can cause the heavy chains to come close overhead the net has been in the water for several hours at a depth of 1000 meters now the catch sensor has been triggered it will still be another half an hour before the net is raised will it be a big catch or a false alarm it remains to be seen we can't count on anything until the equipment starts to come back up the team has a stake in the catch if the net is full they'll earn good money one thousand meters of troll wharf are being rolled up then the net can come on board the ocean trawler is only allowed to fish within a strictly defined zone the devices detected something in the net but that doesn't necessarily mean anything there can be other causes it's kind of this move because then it's consigned it could be anything it could be that we fished up some old net material and that triggered the catch sensor it could be something that got caught and then went loose again all that we fished up something old an old net or a successful catch the crew can only wait then the troll doors come to the surface it won't be long now before the net is here but working with the troll doors is dangerous every move must be exact a door like this weighs six tons sailor johannes kruger secures it by hand using a heavy iron chain bring it up the door is pulled up bring it up and must then be adjusted a little more hannes kurga signals to the bridge that he needs more line as if on cue the radio signal has cut out right before the first catch captain sasha fonsta operates the winch from the bridge the heavy steel troll door gives way and slips back down bring it up door but the chain slips through chain is stuck he bends down in between the troll door and the ship and manages to hold on to the safety rope now the door is hanging in the right position good the net is pulled up further onto the deck now we're yanking it up so we can take up the chain the work down on deck is hard and also dangerous since we've all experienced being on deck as sailors we know what that's like along with the net come the whales they can hear the fishing operation from kilometers away underwater for the beaked whales the net means easy prey they snatch the fish out of the end of the net the first catch is raised on deck will it be a hit or a miss the first signs are good the net is packed full of tons of black halibut it was worth it now it's a matter of minutes the net has to be emptied so that the other net can go into the water as soon as possible on deck the hatch leading to the fish processing plant is opened [Music] the net is opened by hand no machines can help here it's a question of elbow grease so we've got our first catch so help us yeah i think we got a lot looking good really good haul [Music] 15 tons of black halibut so [Music] [Music] so the net is raised by the crane so the sailors can empty it more easily snow shovels are used to push the fish through the hatch from where they fall into the tanks of the fish processing plant captain sasha fonsta oversees the first catch from the bridge [Music] immediately after the catch the second net is cast out this task is one for the second boson and his team the captain makes a sharp turn back to the catch area the second net should enter the water as soon as possible my mother's my side my motto is always time is money and fishing is no exception you need to catch fish quickly in order to make money you have to fish the quote is dry it has to go quickly but also stay on a secure level you have to find the exact balance almost the first catch was good the faster the quota is fished up the faster the sailors get back home after working on deck the next stop is the fish processing plant the catch needs to be processed the fish have only been out of the water for a few minutes from the tank they're transported to the various stations of the plant from now on the plant will be running around the clock the first station is the head machine where the black halibut's heads are removed it's important to place the cut just behind the head so that the client doesn't complain the heads are also sold separately the first place the fish comes after being up on deck is what we call the passage here the passage is made up of three parts first is the head machine where a colleague decapitates the fish sort out any misplaced bass as well as the bycatch however there doesn't seem to be too much of it here the bycatch is also processed nothing is thrown overboard after all it's illegal the heads are packed separately and sold to asian customers [Music] we've actually cooked it before tastes really good cut the cheeks off very tasty the small ones they use for stock and for making fish soup the tails have to have a certain cut the length needs to be right it can't be too long or too short it should be a perfect place the same is true for the heads they should have the so-called japan cut that means the fish shouldn't be cut at an angle but also not straight the clients request it like that and we cut accordingly the next step is of course the cleaning we remove the row and the milk as well as the blood vessels so that the fish is completely clean from the inside that is very very important each fish's tail is cut off individually by hand with 15 metric tons of fish that's a lot of tails assembly line production on the high seas well paid but monotonous the men listen to music over headphones as they work changing the stations now and then down here for business to be profitable things need to be running non-stop 24 hours a day the fish are weighed and then packed into their packaging later they will be shipped around the whole world often to japan the fish processing plant is completely underwater during production cleanliness is the top priority from west greenland to the global market at 10 kilos per packet ocean trawler mark is allowed to fish up to 765 tons on this voyage before it meets its quota the first catch was good possibly up to 15 tons after being packed the fish goes in the freezer just hours after coming out of the water three hours later the fish is deep frozen mistakes are not allowed to happen here it would be too late to correct them this is how the product will reach the client if i mess up the packaging then we have a real problem for example here i have s1 product which means without head just regular halibut if i were to mark it down as heads then the customer would receive this as heads that's stupid it can't happen so you really need to look carefully good concentration make sure there is no root awakening for the clients ashore i have to work alone working in pairs doesn't work you just chat all the time you need to concentrate on the work the last station is the cold room it's always the same men who work here today it's dirk biba's shift cold and a little stressful [Music] the cold room this is where the packages filled with frozen goods are sent over 1 000 tons of frozen product are stored here it's still empty for now the ship is still at the beginning of its voyage the men secure the first catch so that it doesn't get knocked off during a sea swell the men ward off the minus 30 degree temperature with thick clothing sometimes they're down here for hours on end the work is hard for both man and material the hydraulic oil used in here is aircraft oil since it doesn't freeze it takes a while to warm up but afterwards it goes really quickly the hydraulic the forklift is battery operated but the batteries are in constant struggle with the permafrost if the forklift breaks down the men down here have a real problem that's why the vehicle is attached to the heating during every break the battery always needs to be full we don't know how long we're going to be down here this is the cable to charge the battery and now i'm attaching the heater it's a regular power cable that gets attached so that the battery doesn't freeze fresh fish a dream for the cook a part of the first catch goes straight into sebastian voipitz's pan well really tasty fish today we're going to go down in a minute and get some beautiful black halibut for lunch with stewed cucumbers and potatoes it's going to rock [Music] three portions of fish a week would be too much for me you can have bravo's then just rinse this off before we put them in and then we're good to go halibut from the north atlantic fresh is fresh it doesn't get any better than this it's pretty i think that'll be cool let's bring it upstairs in the engine room maintenance work is on the agenda the oil filter needs cleaning for jobs like these the chief enlists the help of a mechanic in total there are four crew members on board who are responsible for technology the men work in 12-hour shifts day and night the engine is the heart of the trawler it drives the ship and also provides power to the processing plant if something goes wrong here it could lead to a total blackout there are maintenance tasks to do every day fill up the oil check the levels check the filters this here is something which needs doing every other week they get dirty get converted taken out and re-cleaned it's normal work nothing extraordinary but also something we don't do every day it just needs speed on every other week after removal the oil filters are placed in an ultrasound container where they are completely cleaned every two weeks the importance of properly functioning machines and emergency systems will become clear soon enough the mark is not the only ship in action on the north atlantic ocean trawler guerra maria is also in the fishing area however this ship will soon be traveling home captain sascha fuentas sends two crew members over to obtain replacement parts for the radio system on deck the sailors let the dinghy down into the water the crew members are wearing safety suits the water here in the arctic circle is only three degrees celsius if anyone falls in they barely have a chance without these suits death sets in after only a few minutes the sea appears flat but for the small dinghy these waves are quite high the gada maria has positioned itself against the wind so that the dinghy is protected the package containing the radio equipment is lowered by ropes [Music] fulfilled its fishing quota and will soon return home the mark's crew however is just at the beginning the men do not yet know how long they will remain at sea so far the catch has been good on the way back whales crossed the dinghy's path a treat even for long-serving sailors ocean trawler mark has been out at sea for two weeks the fishing is going well the men still have their strength but the work both out on deck and in the plant is hard and can drain your energy if we keep going at this rate for two or three weeks that's fine but if you have time to relax you get exhausted and then you have more time to think about how exhausted you are if there aren't as many fish for instance when you sleep more and realize how worn-out you really are time for me to hit the hay and get some sleep the sailors work in shifts seven days a week sometimes for months on end free time is a rarity the cabins sleep two men each but one of the sailors is always on duty this is my room but it hasn't been cleaned up is that okay i sleep on top i usually sleep on the top bunker but you don't need anything more you can't exactly go out so just a few work things it's all you need the weather radar is predicting a storm the dark spots show the wind strength strong winds mean rougher seas the weather out here can change every minute the gusts of wind get stronger and the waves higher storms are dangerous for the crew and bad for business fishing becomes more difficult even at depths of a thousand meters the fishing itself first of all then we have to deal with the nets which fly around a bit and don't stay stable like they do when it's calmer working on deck is obviously harder as well the sailors have a dangerous shift ahead of them the storm is getting stronger the waves loom larger and larger in a few hours the net will be pulled in for this the sailors will have to be on deck the storm can even be felt in the kitchen the ship is actually equipped with railings as you can see here on the stove so you should be able to cook no matter how strong the winds are you really have to stay alert though since everything's moving around the first steersman inspects the ship's hospital during a storm the injury risk is much higher than usual mario fett has a solid training in first aid his last course was not long ago injuries on board can be treated to a certain extent in worst-case scenarios the ship must reach a harbor but that can take days the pharmacy on board mainly offers strong painkillers out at sea there's always something going wrong usually this can be remedied immediately the most common are cuts through handling knives which they need to use in the net and the blades get blunt very quickly since the nets are very sandy or due to the concentrated strength required they often slip off where people cut themselves with the knives cut wounds on board are not sewed but stapled it works just like a normal stapler you place it where you want to close the wound and just push the lever down and then the staple comes out here just a normal staple like you would use with paper and it closes automatically from my own personal experience it's somewhat painful but the pain doesn't last long it's really not very dramatic or anything the main thing is to close the wound and stop bleeding you just have to hang in there that's the problem but it's not exactly pain free below deck the crew is getting ready the storm is raging and the work on deck is getting dangerous boson dennis bachat is responsible for the team make sure no one gets hit or falls overboard it's nighttime the storm and the sea have now been raging for hours the net is being pulled in it's snowing and the wind is coming in sharp blasts the crew can only wait things start to happen now that you can't prepare for hard to anticipate if a big wave breaks just happens at once and then something is flying around yeah it does get scary you don't know what's happening that's the worst thing from the bridge the first steersman has a good view of things but the snow is blowing thicker and thicker the snowflakes are now coming at the ship horizontally and visibility is getting weaker for the moment it's still working up front it's not a problem since we have so many electronic devices and not much shipping traffic the situation is stern is also fine to an extent but if the snow drifts keep getting thicker and we get more of them then it can get pretty hard to see so you have to be extra careful the deck is covered in snow the sailors are passing time the deck is now extremely slippery due to the snow when the net comes it will be too dangerous if anyone were to slip and go overboard their chances of survival at night would be next to nothing the team has set up a hose and are spraying the deck with salt water this works even around freezing temperatures since the salt water does not freeze the crew can fish in any kind of weather but in times like this they're more cautious you have to respect the weather when the wind gets up to 10 or 11 you have to really stay alert the second steersman will later be working between the lines now he's fastening himself with a belt with strong winds like these breakers can crash up onto the deck the net is nearly up the first steersman gives the orders from the bridge the heavy troll doors come up first they're always secured by hand then the net comes on board there are fish inside but the storm is having its effect it's nowhere near the 12 or 13 tons of a few days ago that's not so much maybe around five metric tons it's not great considering the trolling time lower than usual fishermen are disappointed five tons is not a lot the days before produced over double that in order to stay profitable each catch should bring in 10 tons of fish deep sea fishermen are some of the maritime industry's biggest earners but only when the catch is right everyone on board the mark is now hoping for better weather the catch really isn't great it could have been double that the constantly changing weather makes it a bit harder i think the wind is now coming from the north before it was from the south that changes the currents and the fish are sensitive to that we need a more stable weather situation now but we're hoping that tomorrow will be better the storm has subsided after nearly 20 hours the seas surrounding ocean trawler mark are finally smooth again the crew is hoping for a better catch the net is also easier to handle now but the storm has left its marks on board on the bridge an antenna was torn off the silver lining it was only the tv antenna which doesn't work at this latitude anyway but it's not the only thing which is missing this morning on board the mark for those who don't know germany the ship's flag was also torn off in the wind a replacement is attached a legal requirement now we're putting a new one on so other ships know which country we're from what nationality the ship is that's just hot only a few ships are sailing the seas under a german flag many ship companies change their flags to save money but the german deep sea fleet continues to sail under a german flag you can attach it now right but you can't hoist it yet the nautical officer first has to come and see if it's the right way around hey black red and gold the sailors are happy to be sailing under a german flag it guarantees them certain rights and better pay [Music] i'll probably keep doing this until retirement i mean it's also common for container ships to change their flags i hope it doesn't happen because fortunately the fishing quotas are tied to nationality so i don't think it will change too quickly all right hoist it up a bit more the calmer weather means a better catch now every catch is returning upwards of 10 tons the fish is sold as soon as it's on board captain sasha fonsta keeps in constant contact with the fishing authorities and shipping companies in germany we have an electronic logbook that means i give my position every minute and end the catch information directly so 10 minutes after a hall the appropriate authorities are aware of our catch and we also give the company a 24-hour catch report at the end of each day so they know what we've done on board the mark the second net is being prepared so that the two nets can be used at the same time double the nets doesn't always mean double the catch but always double the work a third net must also be made ready so that fishing can continue once nets 1 and 2 are hauled up no one suspects that the day will end in disaster the ship's store has opened several times a week the crew can purchase snacks and drinks at regular prices and even cheaper there's also free non-alcoholic beer during fishing there's a strict alcohol ban on the ship it depends sometimes i have a bag of haribo in the evenings i'm trying to limit it because i'm also trying to limit my weight right now there's a more pilsner on offer i think on this voyage everyone's drinking a bit of that or just water or if you have a sweet tooth then you can take a packet of haribo or something i for my part i'm trying to cut down since i need to lose some weight this isn't for me i'm eating two fewer meals a day to lose weight so i could still eat chocolate what would you like today ralph the creative non-alcoholic beer there are also cigarettes on board but they're stored in a separate area that is locked we had some bad luck when the captain stopped smoking he used to smoke away all our supply and so did the other one so we used our foresight and bought some marble gold more than two boxes ten thousand each now nobody wants any so we're just sitting on them well there have been times when ships have run out of cigarettes i wasn't there i just heard about it you wouldn't want to be the person in charge of the orders in that case if he's on board and it comes out that cigarettes weren't ordered or they were forgotten no man i wouldn't want to experience that i mean probably around 70 percent of the men on board are smokers if you're out for three months you might last two or three days but then you'll be in trouble the chief works 12 hours a day but he never gets a real break his team consists of a total of four people they're collectively responsible for all the technology on the ship from running toilets to the main engine so basically the whole technical setup appliances air water oil pumps everything really ocean trawler mark is built for several month long journeys on all the world seas now it's out at sea off the west greenland coast below deck it's equipped with state-of-the-art technology the diesel engine can power up to 5000 horsepower at the same time the engine supplies the fish processing plant with power the conveyor belts need electricity 24 hours a day the ship is also equipped with an emergency system behind the main engine the chief can actually control everything as long as the main systems are running the worst thing would obviously be if the main engine fails then you have a blackout and everything goes dark boson dennis bachat's team is getting ready for the next hall so far the trip has been fruitful the men have already caught 80 tons of fish morale is good the crew is now fishing with both nets this approach is worth it if they come across the right schools of fish but it can also be risky should something go wrong the nets are dropped into the water the sea is quite calm tonight the team is hoping for a good catch both of the 80 meter long nets enter the water parallel to one another one part has already sunken into the sea the sailors observe the situation from the stern this is where they will eventually release the heavy troll doors which will bring the nets towards the sea floor the ship is steered from the bridge the mark is in the northern section of the fishing area so far everything is going according to plan suddenly a problem the sailor's emergency signal to the bridge comes too late blackout the mark's main engine has stopped running with no electricity or power the ocean trawler is drifting helplessly on the north atlantic both nets are caught in the ship's propeller that's what has stalled the main engine the diesel engine has failed and with it the ship's power supply the emergency generator has been started and is carrying out the ship's most essential functions for the technicians this is the worst case scenario all i know is that the net got into the propellers so now we're obviously trying to get power using the backup motor and then we'll obviously try to get the net back out of there for now the sailors can't do anything except wait for instructions the first steersman tries to scout the situation out for himself both of our nets are in the propeller which has caused the net to coil up and now it's just sitting there now we're trying to get it back on track first we need power so we can use the winch and then we'll see how it goes we'll try to turn the propeller see if it's getting any looser yeah and then we'll see many now the ship is rudderless and powerless drifting through the north atlantic the nets need to be removed from the ship's propeller as quickly as possible the chief goes back into the engine room where he will attempt to start the backup diesel motor without power the processing plant has also been brought to a standstill i need power to function yeah but there's no power anyway it doesn't matter use a high voltage current that's faster than light current 12 volts or high voltage current whatever works the processing plant needs to run uninterrupted in order for the crew to make good money but for now nothing is happening down here the crew on the ocean trawler mark is attempting to salvage whatever is still salvageable the remaining fish need to be removed from the conveyor belt for processing wait there's still some fish on the belt crap we have to reset everything and then wait you need water to clean the fish before you can start processing the freezers have also stopped working the men have to wait for the backup diesel engine to start until then they can only package whatever is left on the end of the belt the technicians need to start the backup engine to reboot the power supply the main engine is no longer able to start since it has stalled in the fish processing plant some appliances are still working using the emergency power supply but there isn't enough to power the entire facility now and then something starts up but it isn't enough to reboot the plant back on deck the sailors prepare lines they want to try to pull the nets out of the propeller but the heavy winches need a lot of power the ocean trawler's propeller is blocked both nets got caught on it at the same time the men are trying desperately to salvage something from this disaster might there be a way to release both nets from the propeller in the engine room the mechanics are trying to start the main engine but nothing is working they need the backup motor to produce the required power lacking a complete power supply the plant is at a standstill at worst the last catch could be lost completely the mark is functioning via several backup systems including the auxiliary diesel engine once this is started the plant and the rest of the ship are supplied with the electricity they need it's back on now magic hands deal with the freezer please what a mess there isn't enough power for everything look up there what's going on is there a backup plan for times like these we won't be able to do it anyway yeah cry for help and leave we have to wait until we get the go ahead from down below until then we can't do anything else the workers in the fish processing plant can now process the last catch no more supplies will be delivered yes it's all s stock are you processing everything that's left yes now we finish what we can emptying the containers b stock and main stock al and then we'll wait and see we also can't use any of our freezers or hydraulics i don't know if the machine will make it what do you write on deck the sailors get ready they're preparing to hoist the nets out of the propeller using heavy ropes both nets have gotten entangled in the ocean trawler's propeller the backup diesel engine is supposed to provide the energy needed for the winches with a traction force of several tons the nets are heaved back on deck but they aren't actually moving out of the propeller they're only becoming taut the crew abandons the maneuver if the nets were to tear it could cause even more damage now we have two options either we get divers to go down and cut it loose or we get towed back either way we'd be using divers as it stands there's really nothing we can do here ourselves the diesel engine is working and producing power but the propeller is blocked and the rudder has also stopped the attempt to pull the net out of the propeller has failed the trawler's voyage has been helplessly cut short i can't see a way forward the engine is stopped same with the crankshaft and the back propeller no more power it's gone black good night thankfully we have this backup diesel engine that we can still use for power supply both nets were caught on the propeller and got tangled the nets are extremely strong and flexible made for deep sea fishing i guess that around 20 meters of it are in there and the forces in the pistons and the situation is difficult the propeller is surrounded by a metal frame known as a court nozzle when it's in there like that we need to send divers in or take it back to a dry dock so it can be released in the processing plant the last fish are coming off of the conveyor belt the mark caught 10 tons during the last haul it could be the last catch of the voyage the sailors would consider this a failure the company will pay them a guaranteed sum but it would be lower than what they would get after a voyage full of good catches ocean trawlers need to catch fish in order to be profitable now the ship is just drifting in the north atlantic the 29-man crew has been at home aboard the mark for weeks they traveled to north greenland to fish for black halibut and make good money but for the moment it has all been brought to a halt the propeller is blocked both nets were caught in the engine during deployment and the crew can no longer help the situation the ocean trawler is alone at this latitude its sister ship embarked on its homeward journey days ago and it's too far away to help captain sasha fonsta is remaining in contact with the carrier company and working out an emergency plan an icelandic ocean trawler is only a few hours away from the mark and is able to help the crew has a lot of preparation to do this is going to be a deep sea rescue mission ocean trawler mark is going to be towed to safety so we're preparing a tow line the other ship will arrive in four to five hours and then we'll hand over our ropes to get a connection [Music] and then they'll give us their troll warp and if the connection works we'll secure it up front so it can tow us away the sailors are preparing the towing operation whether or not it will work is still unclear the ship's regular trip is over ocean trawler mark displaces more than 4 000 tons of water the crew must make sure to use the most stable materials so that nothing tears the men still have around five hours before the icelandic trawler is due to arrive their position has to be exact since this weather makes for poor visibility here in the north atlantic ships are like needles in a haystack i'll take the biggest that we have safety first the towing preparations are underway with 40 tons of traction force this is the thickest cable on board it's secured using a massive shackle will this be enough to tow the ship a sailor prepares grappling hooks it's still unclear as to how the lines will be exchanged between the two ships the grappling hook method has existed for hundreds of years it has stood the test of time the ocean trawler is still drifting through the north atlantic but help should arrive soon and tow the ship to safety suddenly a warship appears it belongs to the fishery authorities the greenlandic authorities keep close watch over their maritime territory and fishing areas below deck the team gets ready for the towing operation they still don't know whether the voyage will be able to continue or whether their fishing time is over they all wait for the icelandic ocean trawler which is to tow their ship to greenland experienced boson casting staffelde gives the instructions too fast you'll be up above if you see it getting too tight and then wait a little so we can raise the line okay okay [Music] the ocean trawler polar nanok appears on the radar now it won't be long the sailors lay out a protective cover so that the cable doesn't get frayed when a cable tears due to pressure it is life-threatening with its ends whipping around searchlights appear on the horizon it's the polar nanok the icelandic ocean trawler has been traveling for seven hours soon it will finally be able to begin the towing operation the sailors have prepared the grappling hooks which will allow the lines to be exchanged between the two ships still the other ship will have to come very close that could be risky especially since ocean trawler mark is unable to steer the bridge of the mark is in radio contact with the icelandic ship but the german trawler is unable to properly steer as long as its propeller is still blocked the captain of the polar nanok has to bring his ship as close to the german trawler as possible harsh wind and waves make the maneuver more difficult with a length of 65 meters the polar nanak is smaller than the mark but still very large after several attempts the captain of the polar nanak manages to get his ship next to the german ocean trawler but the distance is still too wide to throw the lines over at the stern of the icelandic ship one sailor has prepared a shooting device he shoots over a cable from the polar nanok to the mark using an air pressure gun this is a matter of seconds the cable must not slip into the water this maneuver was a success the german sailors now must attach thicker cables to the thinner one sent by the icelandic ship and send them back on board to the polar nanok which will then in turn send a steel cable back [Music] so it's going to set off now we just have to see once the light is tightening but it should be okay ocean trawler mark is now in the icelandic ship's toe everything went perfectly the ship will now be pulled into the greenlandic port city of nuke ocean trawler mark's rudder is nearly completely blocked meaning that the ship's direction can only be influenced minimally from the bridge the icelandic ship left a good kilometers worth of line the german ocean trawler is unable to break or react that's why the ship needs enough distance to be able to cut the line in an emergency without the german trawler rear-ending the other ship on the bridge the first steersman is calculating the remaining travel time the ship is now traveling at a snail's pace and the fishing area is around 110 nautical miles from the coast it will be at least 20 hours until we are settled somewhere and can lower the anchor we're not making much progress because we can't go any faster magnificent so good it's slower than it would be if we could set our own pace it will be interesting to see how everything goes how it will affect the technical facilities whether everything is okay of course it's not great for everyone to stop fishing and go back to harbor if a ship costs a lot per day if it's not bringing in any fish but there's nothing we can do about it that's fishing seafaring it's unclear what will await the team and the ship in nuke the port city only has limited resources at its disposal after a 20-hour long journey in tow the ship reaches the greenlandic coast the icelandic trawler sails out so that the ships can come to a halt in the fjord nuke bay is a tight squeeze for a rudderless ship from the bridge captain sasha fonsta is unable to make the maneuver there are rocky areas on both sides of the ship there are only a few miles left to the harbor everyone's farting two tugboats are waiting for us that will now be informed where we broke off from the pole in the knock and both tug boats will then set off once the polar nanok cuts its line the german ship will again be drifting through the water without power or direction the water here is too deep for anchorage tricky thing is that we can't really use the rudder but with two tugboats that shouldn't be a problem after towing the mark for 20 hours the polar nanok releases its line to the german ship [Music] now the tugboats prepare to bring the ocean trawler into new carver the german ship has been directed to an outpost it's time for the tugboats to buckle down the ocean trawler displaces over 4 000 tons of water slowly and carefully they begin to tow the trawler towards the jetty now ocean trawler mark is in nuke harbor it should have been on the deep sea but both nets are caught in the propeller preventing the ship from moving just minutes after mooring the first move is made to get the trawler moving again a diver will be sent down to the propeller with a camera to give an exact report of the damage the water here is three degrees celsius the diver's dry suit will keep him warm for three hours oxygen will be supplied from the ship via tubes chief jan prusing boards the tugboat he wants to be there when the first images are sent from underwater he might be able to recognize something the diver is now at the stern of the mark and goes under the propeller is located just a few meters beneath the surface on board the tugboat a monitor shows a live feed from the camera it doesn't look good the nets have completely coiled around the propeller and the shaft things like this do happen but it's going to take a long time he had just been in the divers jumping in north korea takes four days you go to all the trawl in the propeller the chief continues to inspect the diving operation on the monitor i wanted to see how everything looks back there two hours later the diver comes back up the problem they speak it's thrown around a lot of times in the problem [Music] but there is some good news the propeller itself doesn't seem to be damaged i hope i don't think so i can't see something and you know also from the axle so what's no one on board knows what's going to happen the first signals are mixed we have a court nozzle which is a huge metal frame surrounding the propeller if the net gets in there then it's much more stuck the propeller turns continuously it doesn't stop all at once it only stops and there's pressure but until then there's already a lot of material in there it could be at an angle or hooked behind the nets remain caught in the propeller the diver can't do anything else today tomorrow he will try to cut the nets loose he only has this small knife at his disposal the team has already given up on saving the nets we don't think he'll get anything out in one piece of course the diver won't have much understanding if we tell him to be careful with our material seeing that we got it in there in the first place he also wouldn't be interested in that and he also wouldn't have any chance of getting it out in one piece we'll have to come out in little pieces i don't think much of it will be salvageable [Music] the next day on board begins at sunrise ocean trawler mark is in nuke harbor today the diver is going to try to get the two nets out of the propeller [Music] the men on board are woken up light on no okay okay i always have to ask light on or off at the stern of the trawler the tugboat is in action with the divers after raising the diver's flag they get to work soon the diver will start cutting the nets loose from the propeller using tiny knives against 40 meters of deep sea fishing net the water here is only a few degrees above freezing the diver can remain underwater for a maximum of three hours before taking a break to warm up the team watches everything from the railing they don't know how it will turn out can the voyage be continued now we know we have three or four days here in the harbor and everything is being pushed back a bit we just don't know what's happening out there whether the fishing and the weather is good or not the diver begins his work slowly he lowers himself into the ice cold water soon he will attempt to cut the nets loose by hand on board the tugboat the chief oversees the work via a monitor the diver is able to move parts of the net but over 40 meters of it are stuck in the propeller working underwater is challenging fetches ropes and locks from the workshop it might still be possible to pull parts of the net out of the propeller using a crane i'm setting up a rope which the diver will bring down and then try to pick at the bits of cut down net so we can partially lift it up the sailors fasten the net to a crane so it can be pulled out of the propeller on board the tugboat a second member of the diving team oversees the underwater operations and gives orders to the team handling the crane [Music] for the diver jerky motions on the ropes beneath the water can be dangerous the diver has already managed to cut one part of the net free the diver did a great job of cutting both nets down there gradually parts of the net are revealed the operation is working one part of the propeller is now free underwater the diver now attaches the hook again using a second rope the net is pulled out of the propeller piece by piece the end of the net is in shreds and large parts of it are still caught in the propeller but the team is now able to get a clearer impression of what still needs to be patched up now we've pulled it in let's see which parts are broken the net is completely mangled the large ship propeller entangled it several times over it looks ripped to shreds but some of it can still be saved the damage is within limits now we can get to work on the parts which are missing quite a lot of it is still in the propeller for the diver there's still a lot to do beneath the water hard work at three degrees celsius he has the painstaking task of cutting out the remains of the net piece by piece the chief is happy there doesn't seem to be any damage to the propeller it's good news as long as nothing else happens from now on but so far everything's gone well we just want to make sure we get out of here the diver's nearly finished the sailors are stitching new nets on deck soon ocean trawler mark will set out for the fishing area once again [Music] it's slow manual work the men must stitch 40 meters for each net that's how much the propeller shredded in both cases [Music] the ship has three nets on board and enough material to repair or even replace all of them not by not the sailors prepare the nets they're hoping that they will soon be able to make money again using the repaired nets while the sailors work on deck the diver continues to cut the rest of the net out of the propeller this can always happen in fishing it's not nice and it's cost us two days but now we can move on after nine hours we'll be fishing again four hours later we'll have our first catch and we're back in business in the galley the cook is planning a special meal to celebrate the good news leaders of coke and a lot of curry are supposed to eventually become a currywurst sausage sauce but sebastian vorpitz is not quite sure it will work in my hometown of rostock we have a really delicious type of curry voice and i'm always trying to figure out how to recreate it whenever i try it it doesn't taste bad but i've never managed to do it exactly how it should taste i'm sure there are one or two tricks which make it how they do it there but i'm definitely getting pretty close ocean trawler mark is back on its way to the fishing area the sailors have done their job well all nets are ready for action the hunt for the black halibut can continue in the processing plant the conveyor belts are running once more the force standstill is over soon enough they should be processing fish here again the team is back in business the sea is calm the best conditions for a good catch will the men finally have some luck the captain is happy the team has proven to be a well-oiled machine that can master even extreme situations on deck the crucial thing is that every movement has to be perfect that's the key to a successful voyage but of course we also need people who can improvise especially with the machinery crew where there are always repairs to be done we need people who are really on the ball who can think on their feet and improvise quickly people who solve problems instead of complaining about them ocean trawler mark has reached its fishing area in west greenland the men on board are now hoping for a good catch so they can earn good money so now we're working on the net again cleaning and then throwing it out again [Music] on the ocean trawler it's back to business as usual [Music] once when we were heating up a catcher stern we saw some orcas a whole family of them they always come up so high their heads go up and down up and down you usually get them when you're fishing for mackerel beautiful animals they really jump up axle also fought some sharks once despite the damage to the nets and the forced stop off in greenland ocean trawler mark will finish its tour in record time 55 days after embarking in bremerhaven the ship will return having fulfilled its catch quota some of the crew sailors will be back at sea just days later [Music] [Music] [Music] you

Channel: WELT Documentary

Views: 3,316,867

Rating: 4.6388645 out of 5

Keywords: full documentary, full documentaries, hd documentary, hd documentaries, free documentary, welt documentary, welt documentaries, full length documentaries, documentary film, top documentaries, reports, factual film, trawler, deap sea, deap sea fishing, fishing, arctic cycle, artic sea, deep sea documentary, fishing documentary, hard work, high seas, halibut, black hailbut, fishing fleet, ocean trawlers, ocean fishing, ocean trawler, trawling

Id: fQEwECzZL_s

Length: 98min 15sec (5895 seconds)

Published: Sun Jan 10 2021