Russian fishing companies have kick-started a massive fleet renovation program at domestic shipyards after the country’s federal government said it would allocate special fishing quotas for new-builds, informs «Pacific Russia».
Kaliningrad-based Yantar Shipyard received the first order last week.
Kamchatka-based V.Lenin Fishing Collective Farm signed a deal with the shipyard on Jan. 22, to build three new purse seiners and pelagic trawlers.
The first one is expected to be delivered in July 2016. All vessels are to be commissioned in the second half of 2018.
The SK-3101R trawler was designed by Norwegian engineering company Skipskompetanse and has an overall length of 50.6 meters, a beam of 12 meter, and a main engine power of about 2,200 kW.
“We are glad to start construction of fishing vessels at our shipyards and have everything necessary to fulfill the order on time and with high quality,” Ilya Panteleev, head of marketing department of Yantar, told Fishing News International.
“The yard is also in process of negotiations with other Russian fishing companies. Murmanseld-2 is most likely to become the second one to sign a contract with us,” he said.
Juri Zadvorny, general director of Murmansk-based Murmanseld-2, confirmed this to Fishing News International.
“Indeed, we are close to the end of negotiations and expect a deal to be inked in February, with the first vessel to be delivered at the end of 2016,” he said.
The company is planning to build four 65-meter trawlers for cod and haddock fishing in the Barents Sea, based on the design by the Norwegian design bureau Cramaco AS.
Arkhangelsk Trawl Fleet (ATF) — the largest fishing company in Russia’s Arkhangelsk region — signed an agreement with Vyborg Shipyard on Jan. 20, to build four 80-meter bottom trawlers.
The design of a new vessel is based on ST116XL project by Norwegian design bureau Skipsteknisk. The vessels will produce both headed and gutted and frozen-at sea-fillets.
“The first ship will be ordered in the middle of this year and all vessels must be commissioned by the end of 2018,” Alexei Zaplatin, CEO at the company, told Fishing News International.
Murmansk-based Nord-Pilgrim is another Russian fishing company planning to renew its fleet.
The company signed an agreement with Skipsteknisk to develop a class design for one 70-meter freezer factory trawler for fishing both bottom and pelagic species.
“We still have to choose the shipyard, but it will definitely be a Russian one,” Juri Tuzov, CEO at the company, told Fishing News International.
“The first vessel might be delivered by the end of 2016,” he said.
Russian Fishery Company – the largest pollock harvester in the country – inked an agreement with state-owned United Shipbuilding Corporation to invest in between five to seven new freezer trawlers, equipped for value-adding processing on board.