The Russian Fishery Company (RFC) has taken delivery of the first of a series of new trawlers designed to fish for pollock in Far Eastern waters, and Vladimir Limanov is the first vessel in the Russian fleet built to produce surimi on board.
Vladimir Limanov has been built at the Tersan Shipyard in Turkey, and the remaining ten vessels in the series are due to be delivered by the Admiralty Shipyard in St Petersburg, with the first pair expected to be commissioned next year.
This long-term programme of fleet renewal comes alongside a phasing out of older tonnage, and RFC has already decommissioned its trawler Bazhenovsk in anticipation of the new 108 metre trawler’s delivery.
The new series of trawlers are significantly more efficient that the older vessels they replace, both in terms of production efficiency on board, quality and range of products, and in emissions, designed to emit 50% less CO2 per kilo of catch than the previous generation of factory vessels.
“We will significantly increase frozen fillet production at sea. We will be the first in Russia to start producing high quality pollock surimi,” said RFC’s owner Gleb Frank.
“I am confident that this product will be in demand in many markets, including of Japan, USA, Europe, China, South-east Asia and, of course, Russia.”
The new series of trawlers are designed to each have capacity for around 15,000 tonnes of fully-processed products, including fillets, minced fish and surimi.
“I worked on fishing vessels and understand what a priceless gift we are presenting to our fishermen today,” said RFC general director Viktor Litvinenko as the Vladimir Limanov was delivered to the company at the Tersan Shipyard.
“Vladimir Limanov is not just a highly efficient trawler. This is a truly second home for the crew, where they live and work for several months in a row. Working and rest conditions ensure that work will be safe and rest will be as comfortable as possible.”
The new trawler is named after industry veteran Vladimir Limanov (1933-1990), who in 1957 joined the Sakhalin Shipping Agency as an engineer and later served with the Inspection of the USSR Register Ministry of the Navy.
