The Nodosa shipyard at Marín in Spain has concluded a contract to deliver an 85-metre, 14-metre breadth factory trawler to Argentinian fishing company Pesantar.
The new vessel is designed on similar lines to lines to the yard’s recent newbuilds, Prion and Argos Berbés, for Falklands/Spanish joint venture companies, which has recently begun fishing for loligo squid in Falklands waters. Pesantar’s new vessel is intended to focus on Patagonian toothfish in Argentinian and adjacent waters, and and will have an 80 tonne/day freezing capacity.
According to Pesantar, this represents a step towards renewing the Argentinian fishing fleet, improving operational efficiency and increasing the company’s productive capacity.
Construction of the vessel will begin in the first quarter of 2025, with delivery scheduled for April 2027. The vessel will feature advanced technological innovations, such as energy recovery systems, which will allow it to reduce fuel consumption, and an optimised design to operate with a variety of fishing gears that will allow for more targeted fishing strategies. Production will include a fishmeal plant and an advanced freezing system.
The new vessel will replace the larger but elderly Echizen Maru.
According to Pesantar this development promises sustainable catches of the various species under its fishing permit in Argentine and adjacent waters, aligning itself with the regulations of the Federal Fisheries Council and contributing to the development of the Argentine fishing industry.
The company stresses that the improved operational efficiency of the new vessel entails a considerable expected optimisation of production, increasing both catches of other species and an increase in annual exports by 15%, with the consequent greater generation of foreign currency.
