Following the outcome of auctions for crab quotas in Russia, the Pella shipyard in St Petersburg has contracted with fishing company Ostrovnoy-Crab to build a pair of 50.45 metre LOA, 12.53 metre beam crabbing vessels.
The two crabbers are the yard’s Project 03070, and Pella is currently ahead of schedule in constructing hulls for the two vessels, which are designed to operate with Japanese-style conical traps to fish for Kamchatka, opilio and blue crab.
Catches are to be held in stackable cages stored live in RSW tanks for discharging and processing onshore.
The RSW storage capacity of each vessel is 461 cubic metres, with a 30 cubic metre bait store capacity.
The crabbers will each have a 1200kW Wärtsilä 6L20 main engine, giving them a service speed of around 12 knots, along with fuel capacity for a 30-day endurance.
The ice-class vessels will carry fresh water for five days, augmented by desalination capacity. Accommodation is for crews of 28 on each of the two vessels.
