Júpiter RE-161

The shooting and fight scene at Reykjavík harbour involves fighting aboard two berthed trawlers, the first Stewart boards is Júpiter RE 161.

Desmond Bagley Running Blind - Jupiter RE-161 © BBC Scotland

Júpiter RE-161 © BBC Scotland

This trawler was built by Ag Werk Seebeck Ltd, Bremerhaven, West Germany in 1957 (Yard number 819) as a bottom trawler. The vessel was taken into service at Neskaupstaðar, Iceland on 16th January 1957 working under the name Gerpir NK 106.

She was renamed, converted from a bottom trawler and worked from 1979 mainly as a purse seiner fishing vessel.

Hrólfur Gunnarsson, the owner of the ship took the vessel to Keflavík, Iceland in the winter season of 1982 and at that time she was the largest trawler working in the Southwest.

Major alterations were planned and undertaken in the summer of 2002 at the harbour slip in Akureyri; such as using a box dredger, the use of a command actuator, refurbishment of the interior and cabins, altering the stern, etc. However some of the works were deferred before completion.

The refurbished vessel was purchased to work out of þórshöfn, Iceland and worked there until October 2004. In Jan 2005 she worked as a cargo ship for Ísfélag Vestmannaeyja hf. Following work as a cargo ship she was due to be sold as scrap to Denmark, however the ship was still in a such a good condition that she was retained. It was decided to complete the changes and improve the lifting mechanism, the work being undertaken in the summer of 2005 in the Westman Islands.

The vessel was sold to Esbjerg in Denmark as scrap in March 2008.
Names: Gerpir NK 106 , Júpiter RE 161, Júpiter ÞH 61, Suðurey VE 12, VE 25 and Bjarnarey Bjarnarey VE 21. [1]

An article by Ágúst Baldursson describes the filming of the scenes aboard the trawlers, it may be viewed here.