The Chieftain is an ex-Royal Naval vessel, which was originally an Aberdovey Class fleet tender called Alnmouth (see below) and then operated as a Sea Cadet training ship. She was built in 1966  by Isaac Plimbott & Sons in Northwich and had the pennant numnber Y13.For an excellent potted history of the 79 class fleet tenders, please visit here.

Due to Ministry of Defence cutbacks, she was sold into the private sector in early 1999. Since her purchase by Chieftain Charters she has been extensively overhauled, modernised and re-equipped. She is now the ultimate angling vessel for the North Sea. Having been commissioned by the Navy, the Chieftain is built to Lloyd's Class One standard, which is the highest specification in the world. She is constructed of steel, is 80 feet in length, and is powered by a Lister-Blackstone engine.

The 'Chieftain' is fully stabilised, and in rough weather the unique shape of the hull and drafts enable the vessel to remain upright with minimum rolling characteristics. The wheelhouse equipment on the 'Chieftain' represents the latest ‘state of the art’ electronics for fish finding and safe navigation. No other charter vessel can approach her specifications for passenger safety and comfort. With such a large vessel, anglers are very well spaced when fishing and perhaps many anglers favourite thing from a full days angling, everyone gets a seat. Consequently, they encounter considerably fewer tangles than they would on a smaller boat, markedly increasing actual fishing time. 

Standard charters are short fishing trips of 10 or 12 hours or long offshore trips of 18 up to 96 hours. Full angling and cruising holidays are also undertaken. For details, check our Trip Lengths and Prices section. A capacious on-deck chiller was designed and purpose-built to provide cold storage for filleted fish. Fillets are packed into trays (flesh to flesh, skin to skin) in the chiller, where they are maintained at a temperature that ensures the prime fillets remain in pristine condition.