Name Coot Port of registry United Kingdom Identification GK 310 | Owner Purchased in Aberdeen Completed 1892 | |
Builder William H. Hamilton & Co., Glasgow | ||
The Coot (GK 310) was the first Icelandic trawler.
She was built in 1892 by the Glasgow firm William H. Hamilton & Co. and purchased in Aberdeen.
Prior to the arrival of the Coot there had attempts by various foreign owned companies to run trawling fleets off Iceland but these had not proved commercially successful. A Devon fisherman Mr. Pike Ward registered a trawler in Iceland, the Utopia, but it was not a commercial success due to what might be termed alcohol related human capital problems.
The Coot operated from Hafnarfjörður between 1905 and 1908. It was owned by Icelandic entrepreneurs who founded fishing business Fiskveiðihlutafélag Faxaflóa. It was driven by a steam engine and fished using a trawl.
The ship's kettle can be found by the roundabout on the junction of Reykjavíkurvegur, Strandgata and Vesturgata.
A painting of the Coot was used as a design for a stamp issued in March 2004. The stamp bears the title Fyrsti Togarinn Á Íslandi, Coot 1904 and its value, 50.00.