The North Star, a newly constructed 261-foot fishing vessel destined for use in the Alaska groundfish fishery by North Star Fishing Company (formerly Iquique US), has finally been righted after suffering severe damage from Hurricane Michael earlier this year.

An executive involved with the project confirmed with IntraFish the nearly complete Alaska factory trawler built by Florida-based Eastern Shipbuilding was righted on Dec. 6.

Getting the vessel upright again was the most daunting task for the salvage crew in Florida, but the vessel has a long way to go before it can be used commercially, the source said.