The first of seven new fishing vessels being built for Spanish fishing group Nueva Pescanova has sailed from Redondela in Galicia for Lüderitz in Namibia.
The company is building new freezer vessels for its fishing activities in Mozambique as well as fresher trawlers to operate on hake in Namibia.
Lalandii 1 is the first of three hake trawlers to be commissioned. It was delivered by Astilleros Armón’s Vigo shipyard and called at Redondela, where Nueva Pescanova has its headquarters, before departing.
In Namibia it will fish for Nueva Pescanova subsidiary NovaNam, while the four shrimp trawlers under construction will land their catches to Pescamar in Mozambique.
The company has a fleet of more than 70 fishing vessels operating in the southern hemisphere and the seven new trawlers represent a €42.50 million investment in renewing capacity.
The 49.65 metre, 1600kW Lalandii 1 has accommodation for a crew of up to 30 and the trawler has been designed for low fuel consumption coupled with efficient operation. The processing deck is laid out with a vacuum gutting line and a bubble washer.
The yard’s design team used virtual reality as one of their tools in finalising the new trawler’s layout, working with the company’s skippers, engineers and even retired fishermen to make full use of their experience and expertise.
