The Spanish shipbuilding group Armón has launched Július Geirmundsson, a new 67.1-metre factory trawler for Icelandic owner Hraðfrystihúsið Gunnvör hf, at its Ría de Vigo yard in Spain.
The vessel was floated out in late December and is now alongside for outfitting, with delivery planned for the second half of 2026.
Third Armón trawler for Iceland
Július Geirmundsson is the third trawler Armón has built for Icelandic owners in four years. It follows Baldvin Njálsson (2021) and Hulda Björnsdóttir (2024). The new vessel was ordered more than a year ago, with the keel laid in January 2025.
Hraðfrystihúsið Gunnvör will operate the trawler and replace an older factory trawler of the same name, built in Poland in 1987.
Design, size and equipment
The vessel was designed by Icelandic naval architect Skipasýn, which also designed the two earlier Armón trawlers for Iceland. It measures 67.1 metres in length, has a 16-metre beam, and accommodates 27 crew members.
Propulsion comes from a 3,600 kW MAN main engine. Ibercisa supplies deck machinery, including electric trawl winches and a full anchoring and mooring system. The factory deck is being fitted with automated sorting, freezing, and palletising systems, as well as a plant for producing fishmeal and fish oil.
Icelandic owner and background
Hraðfrystihúsið Gunnvör operates two trawlers and runs a fish processing plant in Hnífsdalur and a canning factory in Súðavík. Its subsidiary Háafell is active in salmon farming in Ísafjarðardjúp.
The contract for the new trawler was signed in February 2024, when the company confirmed the vessel would replace the 35-year-old Július Geirmundsson and would focus on efficiency and improved crew conditions.