Construction has begun on the first of a series of new supertrawlers for the Russian Fishing Company, with the keel-laying of the lead vessel celebrated at the Admiralty Shipyard in St Petersburg. According to the company, these new vessels will be far superior to their existing tonnage.
Representatives of the Federal Agency for Fisheries, the Russian Fishery Company and the Admiralty Shipyard took part in the keel-laying ceremony.
Each of these new vessels is designed to be able to catch and process more than 50,000 tonnes of fish annually. This is twice the capacity of the company’s current vessels. The super-trawlers will have factory decks capable of waste-free processing to produce primarily pollock fillets and surimi.
The total investment in the construction of the six super-trawlers will amount more than $600 million. Under the framework of the state programme of investment quotas for the construction of trawlers, RFC will receive additional annual quotas for more than 170,000 tons of pollock and herring.
“Today’s event will undoubtedly become one of the brightest pages in the history of not only the Russian Fishery Company, but also the entire industry, which has long awaited such a breakthrough,” commented RFC CEO Fedor Kirsanov, speaking at the keel-laying ceremony.
“Together with the Admiralty shipyards, we are reviving the traditions of domestic civil shipbuilding, we are starting construction of a whole series of modern high-performance fishing vessels. Between now and 2023, the Admiralty shipyards will build six super-trawlers. These new vessels are built under the investment quota programme, under which the RFC has applied for the construction of three more similar trawlers-processors. This large-scale fleet renewal will significantly increase the efficiency of the company’s fishing capacity and strengthen its position.”
The yard has also started cutting metal for the second trawler in the series. The vessels are expected to be built in pairs, with two trawlers delivered each year. The launch of the first two trawlers is scheduled for the first half of 2020.
A decision by the Federal Agency for Fisheries on RFC’s application for the construction of three more super-trawlers is expected this year.
