Freezer / Reefer Technician

Primary qualification

• Spanish maritime route: Naval Mechanic or Senior Naval Mechanic title (RD 36/2014, fishing sector titles) with refrigeration specialisation; or the trade route: an industrial refrigeration technician (thermal and fluid installations vocational training — as a guide) signed on as engine personnel.
• Refrigeration installation/refrigerant handling credentials per plant: fluorinated gases (RD 115/2017) for halocarbon plants and specific ammonia training under the Spanish refrigeration installations safety regulation (RD 552/2019) (as a guide — verify onboard applicability per flag).
• Fishing Deckhand certificate (RD 36/2014) as the sign-on base when entering via the trade route (as a guide).

Basic STCW

• Basic Safety Training certificate (Spanish Order FOM/2296/2002) to sign on Spanish fishing vessels.
• Specific Health Training (Order PRE/646/2004) and a valid ISM pre-embarkation medical.

Specific courses

• Industrial refrigeration with ammonia (R-717) and CO2: safety, leak detection, respiratory PPE and emergency response.
• Extreme-cold work: limited-exposure protocols, two-person working and PPE for ULT tunnels and holds (hypothermia and frostbite risk).
• Confined spaces (holds, refrigerated tween decks) and hazardous atmospheres from refrigerant leaks.
• Hygiene and traceability of frozen fishery products: the -18 °C or below requirement of Regulation (EC) 853/2004 and thermal records for inspection (as a guide).

Indicative experience

As a guide: 2-4 years in shore industrial refrigeration (slaughterhouses, canneries, port cold stores) or as a motorman with refrigeration duties before taking charge of the plant; on large tuna seiners and factory vessels the veteran technician stacks 1-3 month campaigns for years on the same vessel, because knowledge of the specific plant is what pays most.

Observations

Typical route: motorman or shore refrigeration technician → Freezer/Reefer Technician → fishing vessel chief engineer (via the Naval Mechanic / Senior Naval Mechanic titles of RD 36/2014) or Factory Manager (see profile); the passenger-ship counterpart is the Reefer Engineer (see profile). Professional judgement: the cold is the ship’s cashbox — a plant failure with a full hold means losses of hundreds of thousands of euros, which is why the technician takes part in the decision to keep fishing or head for port when the plant is running at its limit. Non-negotiable safety: ammonia kills in minutes in an enclosed space (fixed detection, respiratory PPE and ventilation before entry) and ULT tunnels and holds are worked in pairs with limited exposure times.

Typical watches

• Continuous monitoring during processing and storage; refrigeration watches on large freezer vessels and permanent availability on campaign

Key responsibilities

• Operate and maintain the fishing vessel’s refrigeration plant: compressors, condensers, evaporators and automation, with ammonia (R-717) as the usual refrigerant on large freezers.
• Control the freezing of the catch per the vessel’s system: brine wells (around -18/-20 °C on seiners) or air-blast tunnels and ultra-low temperature holds (down to -60 °C for sashimi-grade tuna).
• Monitor and log temperatures of wells, tunnels and refrigerated holds: thermal traceability is a sanitary requirement and a condition of the trip’s value.
• Detect and stop refrigerant leaks with the vessel’s equipment and safety protocols (ammonia is toxic; halocarbons require documented leak control).
• Support the engine department with general maintenance when the refrigeration plant allows.

Operational scope

• The refrigeration machinery room and refrigerant plant
• Brine wells, freezing tunnels and refrigerated holds
• The factory deck during processing, alongside the Factory Manager