Technical Analysis of the Solar-Assisted Fish Cooling System for Fishing Boat

Risal Amin (Department of Naval Architecture, Institut Teknologi Kalimantan, Balikpapan, 76127, Indonesia)
Gad Gunawan (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Institut Teknologi Kalimantan, Balikpapan, 76127, Indonesia)
Kharis Sugiarto (Department of Electrical Engineering, Institut Teknologi Kalimantan, Balikpapan, 76127, Indonesia)
Happy Aprilia (Department of Electrical Engineering, Institut Teknologi Kalimantan, Balikpapan, 76127, Indonesia)
Samsu Dlukha Nurcholik (Naval Architecture, Institut Teknologi Kalimantan)
Devy Setiorini Sa’adiyah (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Institut Teknologi Kalimantan, Balikpapan, 76127, Indonesia)

Indonesian Journal of Maritime Technology or abbreviated (ISMATECH)
Vol. 4 No. 1 (2026): Volume 4 Issue 1, June 2026

As an archipelagic country with a coastline of thousands of kilometers and enormous oceans with high diversity, Indonesia has very rich fishing resources from capture fisheries. But this maritime treasure is typically under-exploited, poorly managed and vulnerable to environmentally damaging activities. Indonesia can implement effective and environmentally friendly technical solutions to prevent marine pollution. For instance, the use of Solar Power equipment (SPS) in fishing vessels can meet the energy needs of the refrigeration equipment on board. The objective of this study is to investigate the viability of solar panel installation on fishing vessels and its effects on vessel stability. The results showed that the vessel's roof is fitted with eight solar panels, each with a capacity of 500 Wp, to create 14.92 kWh per day to power five refrigeration units. Stability analysis shows that the addition of rooftop solar panels, cooling boxes, and batteries in the fish hold is in compliance with IMO Standard A.749(18) Chapter 3, ensuring the safety of the system for practical application.