Galician shipbuilder Construcciones Navales P. Freire will build an energy-efficient 77m long tuna purse vessel for Grupo Calvo fitted with 18 freezer compartments of approximately 1,500m3.
With gross tonnage totalling 1,973GT and 3,392kW of power, the new vessel is designed to meet the highest energy efficiency standards. Construction work will be carried out at the Freire shipyard in Vigo and will take place over a 19-month period for the vessel to be operative at the end of 2020.
“Supplying tuna efficiently and responsibly is a critical aspect of our business,” said Mané Calvo, chief executive officer of Grupo Calvo. “Having our own fleet enables us not only to ensure quality product supply, but also helps us to take an active role in assuring the sustainability of our raw material.”
Fleet renovation
The building of this vessel marks the beginning of Grupo Calvo’s ambitious fleet renovation project aimed at maintaining raw material supply capability, as well as improving productivity and operational efficiency.
Grupo Calvo, which currently manages 12 vessels including two merchant vessels, three support ships and seven tuna fishing vessels., said the new vessel will operate in the fishing area that the company manages in the Atlantic Ocean and will be audited to obtain APR (Responsible Tuna Fishing) certification like the company’s other tuna fishing vessels.
Assessment under this certification covers not only environmental aspects ensuring compliance with the highest standards in purse seine tuna fishing, which includes initiatives such as independent on-board observers on all company vessels, fleet tracking and monitoring via satellite, amongst others; but also encompasses oversight of fulfilment of workers’ labour, health and safety conditions, as prescribed by Convention 188 of the International Labour Organization (ILO).
The Freire shipyard has many years of experience in the construction and repair of tuna vessels for national and international shipowners as well as trawlers equipped with state‐of‐the‐art technology such as the recently delivered Markus for Greenlandic shipowners.
