Regular readers of Pontoonopedia will know how much I love the Deadliest Catch TV show on the Discovery Channel. I’ve blogged quite a bit about the crab boats and how they work, but there was one burning question I still had been unable to answer; how much fuel does a crab boat hold? I did some research, and found the fuel capacities listed below:
How much fuel the crab boats from Deadliest Catch hold:
- Aleutian Ballad: 28,000 gallon fuel capacity
- Artic Dawn: 21,000 gallon fuel capacity
- Billikin: 60,000 gallon fuel capacity
- Cornelia Marie: 25,800 gallon fuel capacity (in 9 integral gas tanks)
- Early Dawn: 45,000 gallon fuel capacity
- Erla-N: 45,000 gallon fuel capacity
- Farwest Leader: 18,000 gallon fuel capacity
- Fierce Allegiance: 65,000 gallon fuel capacity
- Incentive: 21,000 gallon fuel capacity
- Kodiak: 20,000 gallon fuel capacity
- Lady Alaska: 12,500 gallon fuel capacity
- Lisa Marie: 10,000 gallon fuel capacity
- Lucky Lady: 3,000 gallon fuel capacity
- Maverick: 9,500 gallon fuel capacity
- North American: 46,000 gallon fuel capacity
- Northwestern: 60,000 gallon fuel capacity
- Retriever: 60,000 gallon fuel capacity
- Rollo: 34,000 gallon fuel capacity
- Saga: 35,500 gallon fuel capacity (in 7 integral gas tanks)
- Sea Star: 20,000 gallon fuel capacity
- Time Bandit: 22,000 gallon fuel capacity
- Trailblazer: 50,000 gallon fuel capacity
- Western Viking: 26,000 gallon fuel capacity
- Wizard: 48,000 gallon fuel capacity (in 8 integral gas tanks)
It’s worth mentioning here that the crab boats on the Deadliest Catch aren’t the biggest crab boats in the world. There are huge commercial crab boats that will hold much more fuel than the ones listed above.
But, if it’s the classic crab boats from the Deadliest Catch you are interested in, the above fuel capacity details are pretty typical for boats of this size.
Related questions about crab boat fuel capacity
As part of my research into the crab boat fuel capacity and consumption, I stumbled across and Q&A session on Facebook with Captain Andy Hillstrand of the Time Bandit.
Catching crabs means you need a boat with a large fuel capacity, and the consumption can be very high!
He was answering questions from fans of the Deadliest Catch, some of which spoke about fuel consumption and usage when crab fishing. I’ve listed some of those questions and expanded versions of his answers below to make them more relevant to what you want to know.
How much fuel does the Time Bandit hold?
The Time Bandit crab boat holds 22,000 gallons of fuel in the integral gas tank. She will cruise between 8.5 and 9 knots at the top end speed.
What’s a crab boat fuel consumption like?
The Time Bandit crab boat will burn through 30 to 36 gallons of fuel each hour when steaming. The crab boat’s fuel will last for up to one month but is dependent on how hard the engines are being pushed by the crew.
When the boat returns to the port every couple of weeks, the crew will then top up or re-fill the fuel tanks. Crab boat fuel consumption can be very high!
Where do the Time Bandit and crab boats get their fuel from?
Fuel re-filling takes place at any port where crab is unloaded such as Dutch Harbor or St.Paul.
Fuel is taken onboard using high-speed gas pumps, some of which pump fuel out very quickly.
How much fuel will the crab boat use in a crab fishing season?
A crab boat like the Time Bandit will burn through about 80,000 gallons of fuel in each Deadliest Catch crab fishing season.
That means they will need to re-fuel on average 3.6 times each season, given the fuel capacity is 22,000 gallons.
On a daily basis, the Time Bandit crab boat can expect to get through 750 gallons of fuel.
Does the price of fuel dictate where the crab boats go to fish?
For King Crab, not so much, as you have to go where the crab is.
For Opelia Snow crab, maybe yes, just a little bit, but overall, fuel is fuel and you have to pay for it and then go get a great haul.
How can you improve the fuel consumption of a crab boat?
You might have noticed the bow at the front of the Time Bandit with the painted teeth. This is called a Bulbous Bow and was attached in 2008.
Because it has air inside it, it’s buoyant, helping to keep the front of the crab boat up and out of the waves.
This helps to reduce drag and will improve the fuel consumption. That’s just one way!
More information on crab boat fuel usage
I also found an article that talked about the FV North American from the Deadliest Catch. Here are some interesting facts about how much fuel it holds and uses in a season:
- Running the engine at 1,025 rpm uses 42 gallons of fuel each hour.
- It will burn through hundreds of gallons of fuel in just one crab fishing trip.
- The North American crab boat can hold 46,000 gallons of fuel.
Facts about crab fishing
And lastly, aside from the fuel capacity and consumption, here are some interesting facts about crab fishing I found whilst researching this article.
- Crab fishing seasons last for a month a time, with 2 occurring in winter and fall.
- Every season sees around 250 crab boats leave Dutch harbor.
- Crab boats in the Deadliest Catch can be as large as 200 feet in length.
- The crab boats featured on TV will have a crew of between 3 and 9 men.
The last word…
As you can see, crab boats can hold a huge amount of fuel.
When you consider how much fuel costs at the moment, and how much they burn through, you can see how this can cut into their profits so significantly.
If you like the Deadliest Catch, and want to know more about the show and some of the facts behind the scenes, check out these other articles:
