The first of a series of high-tech factory trawlers built in Russia for the Russian Fishery Company has sailed from the Admiralty Shipyard in St Petersburg.
A farewell ceremony for 108 metre LOA, 21 metre breadth Kapitan Vdovichenko took place at the yard this week as the new ice-class trawler began its long delivery trip, taking the northern sea route to reach Vladivostok. It is designed to operate on pollock and herring in the Bering Sea and Sea of Okhotsk.
This is the first of ten planned vessels for the company to be built at the yard in St Petersburg, while the first to be built to this design, Vladimir Limanov, was delivered a year ago by its Turkish builder.
‘Kapitan Vdovichenko is an important step in the implementation of our strategy aimed at full processing and the creation of new high-quality products for our consumers,’ said RFC general director Olga Naumova.
‘As a company, we were one of the first to take the decision to upgrade the fleet. For us, the new fleet is an opportunity to create and increase modern jobs, to develop the prestige of fishing as a profession.’
As well as conventional production of frozen and canned pollock and herring products, Kapitan Vdovichenko’s factory deck is designed to produce surimi, fishmeal and fish oil.
Kapitan Vdovichenko has been built under the Russian government’s investment quotas initiative, designed to encourage investment in fishing and processing capacity.
The ceremony at the Admiralty Shipyard was attended by numerous dignitaries from industry, government and the shipyard’s parent company United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC).
