Vladivostok, Russia-based Russian Fishery Company formally received the first of its 10 planned supertrawlers in a handover ceremony at the Tersan shipyard in Turkey on 10 December.
The Vladimir Limanov, named in honor of a longtime mechanic for the Sakhalin Shipping Agency and at the U.S.S.R. Ministry of the Navy, was completed in Turkey, with the plan to complete the remaining nine vessels in the line at the Admiralty Shipyards in St. Petersburg, Russia, using experience gained from the first build
“With the commissioning of the supertrawler, the Russian Fishery Company will move to a new stage of efficiency improvement,” RFC Board Chairman Gleb Frank said in a press release. “The use of modern technologies will allow the RFC to improve safety and environmental friendliness of fishing, ensure the most careful handling of biological resources, guarantee the highest quality of the products to our consumers all over the world, and create the most comfortable working conditions and leisure facilities for the crews.”
The Vladimir Limanov is capable of catching 60,000 metric tons of fish annually and will begin fishing in early 2021, according to RFC. Its on-board processing facilities allow for greater precision and no waste, according to RFC, allowing the company to produce frozen-at-sea fillets and begin to produce surimi for the first time.
“We will significantly increase the production of filet frozen at sea. We will be the first in Russia to start producing high-quality pollock surimi,” Frank said. “I am confident that this product will be sought-after in many markets, including the markets of Japan, U.S.A., Europe, China, Southeast Asia and, of course, Russia.”
The vessel will be able to produce up to about 15,000 MT of deep-processed products like fillets, mince, and surimi per year, RFC said.
All of RFC’s new vessels are expected to reduce their carbon emissions by 50 percent per ton of fish weight caught compared with existing vessels in its fleet, RFC said. And working conditions will be improved to be more efficient and safer, and provide the crew with amenities such as a sauna, gym, and cinema.
“I worked on fishing vessels, and therefore, like no one else, I understand what a priceless gift we are presenting to our fishermen today,” RFC Director General Viktor Litvinenko said. "[The] Vladimir Limanov is not just a highly efficient fishing 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 created on the supertrawler ensure that work will be safe and rest will be as comfortable as possible. The previously unattainable catching and processing capacity of the vessel will provide fishermen with a decent income.”
Three other RFC ships are currently under construction and will subsequently be built in pairs annually. Delivery of the first two Russia-built vessels to RFC is scheduled for 2021. The entire ST-192 class of supertrawlers is being built at a cost of RUB 65 billion (USD 913.1 million, EUR 812.9 million). The renovation is due in large part to a quota investment program initiated by the Russian government in 2016 with the goal of renovating the country’s fleet. The program appears to be having its intended effect – the RFC already decommissioned the BMRT Bazhenovsk in September.
Photo courtesy of Russian Fishery Company
