Russia sings to Rapp winches

"This is the first time in recent memory that a Russian yard has built a boat for a Russian customer," according to Tore Torrissen, senior marketing manager of Rapp Hydema AS. The boats are the two first builds in a series of 10 and are part of the drive to upgrade the coastal fishing fleet in and around Murmansk.

The project took off about three years ago as a cooperation between the Russian company ET&C and Rapp, part of the new Russian fisheries strategy to harvest previously untargeted resources in coastal regions. OPC FC Udarnik has so far transferred quotas from existing vessels to new builds and, generally speaking, it seems to be easier to obtain funding in today's Russian market, according to a statement from Rapp.

Natural choice

The choice of Rapp winches was a natural one for this fleet, Rapp said. Rapp has been the leading winch supplier for Norwegian 90-footers. "We came with excellent references from the Norwegian market, so now we are bringing our experience to Russia," says Torrissen, and the winches are built by RossNor in Russia.

"In that way, we can utilise the competence that we have built up over the past 10 years. There are many benefits from this arrangement, Torrissen said. RossNor manufactures gearboxes for Rapp Hydema AS, and for several years now the Rapp Group has focused on building up the competence and production facilities there. "The Russian-made winches are up to the famous Rapp standard while prices can be pressed down due to the lack of customs duty on the goods," Torrissen added.

The boats are rigged for bottom and pelagic trawls and crab fishing. They are also fitted for Scottish seining, an entirely new technique in Russia. "Apart from sharing new technology with the Russian market, the arrangement has given us a chance to transfer new competencies.

"The Russian fishermen are being taught how to use Scottish seining and are simultaneously being taught how to work effectively with our combi-winches," Torrissen said.