Turkey’s Tersan Shipyard has been contracted to build a new fishing vessel that will be operated in New Zealand waters by Aurora Fisheries, which is a part of the Solander Group.
According to Tersan, the as-yet-unnamed 80-metre-long vessel, designed by Skipsteknisk of Norway, heralds a new era for Solander as it brings the latest developments in energy efficiency and regeneration to New Zealand’s deepsea fishing grounds.
“We are so proud to be the builder of this state of art vessel for Aurora Fisheries. She will be the first vessel to be delivered to New Zealand from Tersan which makes her all the more special for us. We look forward to working with Aurora and Skipsteknisk and will work hard to proceed with the construction of the vessel and deliver her on time,” Tersan’s Managing Director Mehmet Gazioğlu said.
With accommodation onboard for 50 crew, the vessel will be built and arranged for single pelagic and demersal trawl for catching southern blue whiting, jack mackerel and ling as well as squid and hake in the areas around New Zealand. It will have a 2,135 cubic metre freezer hold cargo capacity for ready-graded products on pallets.
“Tersan Shipyard and Skipsteknisk have considerable experience in working together in the construction of deepsea fishing vessels. This gives Aurora the confidence to invest in such a significant step forward,” Aurora Fisheries CEO Paul Hufflett said.
The new vessel is scheduled for delivery in late 2025, and will replace a current vessel which, while having has served the company well, was not originally built for New Zealand waters.
