Icelandic companies Skaginn 3X, Frost and Rafeyri have signed a contract to supply a high-tech pelagic processing plant to a customer in the Russian Far East. The factory in the Kuril Islands will be fitted out to grade, pack and freeze 900 tonnes of pelagic fish per day.
‘This new state-of-the-art plant will bring more jobs and will help further development of Shikotan island,’ said Alexander Verkhovksy, owner of JSC Gidrostroy. ‘After looking at several factories around the world it was an obvious choice to work with the Icelandic companies.’
These three Icelandic companies have worked together in the past to fit out processor vessels and a number of shore-based factories.
‘The collaboration we have formed under Knarr Maritime is proving to be successful and is in fact bringing us to new markets it was previously not possible to reach,’ said Frost’s sales director Guðmundur Hannesson.
The contract for the JSC Gidrostroy factory is a key step towards the Pacific market , where pelagic fishing is growing strongly, not least with growing volumes of sardinella being landed. This makes the construction project an important development for both parties.
‘The project is both large and important – for both us and Gidrostroy,’ said Skaginn 3X managing director Ingólfur Árnason.
‘It all started last year when we sold and delivered a Skaginn 3X system including key components from our Icelandic collaborator, Style. The results and mutual respect gained in that project was such that both parties where intrigued by the prospect of working more together.”
He added that the improvement in cooling and handling, along with the unparalleled and innovative freezing technology, will improve the product quality and hence the demand for the products.
JSC Gidrostroy is a company that has a unique place in the Russian fishing sector. It has deep roots and a strong sense of social responsibilities in the Kuril Islands. It currently employs 3600 people and an additionally 1500 during the fishing seasons, and the fleet catches around 300,000 tonnes of fish each year.
It was the first Russian company to achieve MSC certification.
