Signed during the Eastern Economic Forum, a letter of intent confirms that Sber Bank will finance the construction of four high-capacity trawlers for the Russian Fishery Company (RFC).
The agreement, worth US$400 million, has been signed by chairman of the RFC board Gleb Frank and first deputy chairman of the SberBank executive board Alexander Vedyakhin.
Sber will act as a lender and financial partner of the enterprise.
The factory trawlers are to be built in St Petersburg and of the eleven planned in total, the lead vessel in the series has already been delivered. Six more are at various stages of completion at Admiralty Shipyards, with three so far floated off and with factory decks being installed.
The new agreement will provide impetus for the construction of four more vessels. All of these trawlers will be taken to the Primorye region to join the RFC fleet.
‘Today is a milestone for us. We have financed four out of eleven vessels in which Sberbank is a partner. We are closing the financial package for the whole programme of our new building,’ Gleb Frank said.
‘Unlike the current vessels, the new ones are able to make products for the consumer markets – fillets and surimi. They are super sustainable. Fresh water use is reduced to zero, and carbon footprints are the lowest among fishing fleet vessels. Within four to five years we should receive the remaining vessels in the series.’
‘Russian Fishery Company is Sber’s long-term partner, and this is not our first agreement,’ Alexander Vedyakhin said.
‘We are happy to invest in a company that intensively develops fishing capacity in the Far East and is one of the large employers in the region. Apart from the new trawlers’ power and fishery efficiency, it is worth noting that they comply with the sustainability principles Sber is committed to.’
