China launches first domestic tuna refrigerated reefers

China is claiming a big breakthrough for its tuna fleet with the setting to sea of the country’s first deep-freeze tuna reefer. 

One of two vessels built for Zhoushan Pingtai Rong Yuan Yang Group is already plying the Pacific Ocean to bring tuna catches from the company’s vessels back to the company’s home base in Zhoushan, a major east coast fishing port and city that’s looked to international waters in recent years due to overfishing of China’s territorial waters. 

Named ‘PingTai Rong Leng’ 1 and 2, the vessels are 6,000 metric tons (MT) in weight and 116 meters long by 16.6 meters wide. Pingtai claims to have spent CNY 130 million (USD 18.9 million, EUR 17.7 million) on their construction. In a statement announcing the launch, the China Long Distance Fishing Association – of which the firm is part – said that the vessels would reduce the cost and time involved in getting Chinese-caught tuna back to Chinese ports. 

“Previously our shipping companies relied on Japanese and Taiwanese transport vessels, but now China has its own transport vessels to propel the advancement of our tuna industry,” the CLDFA said in a statement.

Pingtai claims to have an output of 10,000 MT per year with the bulk shipped to Europe. The company said in its own statement on the launch that it wants to increase domestic sales so that “more Chinese people can taste the delicious and nutritious tuna.”

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