Fishing Vessel News Roundup

Written by Baird Maritime on August 15, 2023. Posted in Aquaculture World, Marine Research and Training, Maritime Tourism, Potting World, Transport & Processing, Trawling World.

Deliveries include a prawn catcher for a Scottish owner, a scallop vessel for an Argentine operator, and a pelagic trawler designed for Russian Far East waters. A Russian crab boat has meanwhile completed sea trials and will be delivered to its new owner. Finally, two Chinese shipyards have launched two new semi-submersible fish farms that may also be used for marine science and tourism applications.

Scottish North Sea fisher takes delivery of prawn twin-rigger

Scottish fisher Mark Robertson recently took delivery of a new twin-rig trawler built by Macduff Shipyards to design by Macduff Ship Design.

The 22.75- by 7.6-metre Zenith replaces two earlier Macduff-built vessels in the owner’s fleet. Like its predecessors, it will operate out of Fraserburgh in the North East of Scotland, primarily targeting prawns in the North Sea.

The vessel also features a fish processing deck complete with an ice plant and a refrigerated hold. Propulsive power is provided by a Caterpillar C18 447kW IMO Tier III-compliant main engine.

Cooke Seafood’s Argentina subsidiary adds new scalloper to fleet

Wanchese Argentina, a subsidiary of Cooke Seafood USA’s Wanchese Fish Company, took delivery of a new scallop trawler from Spanish shipbuilder Armon.

Erin Bruce II will be used for year-round trawling and processing of Patagonian scallops. It boasts a length of 50.5 metres, a beam of 12 metres, a hold capacity of 400 cubic metres, electric winches, trawling sensors, and accommodations for 37 crewmembers.

The vessel will begin operational sailings in Argentina early 2024.

Russian-built freezer trawler handed over to owners

Russia’s Admiralty Shipyards, a division of United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC), has delivered a new trawler to the Russian Fishery Company.

Mekhanik Sizov is the third in the Project ST192 series of trawlers developed jointly by Russia’s Marine Engineering Bureau and Norwegian naval architecture firm Skipsteknisk. It will be used for pelagic trawling of Alaska pollock and herring in the Bering Sea, the Sea of Okhotsk, and adjacent Far East waters.

Like its sisters, Mekhanik Sizov has a length of 108.2 metres, a moulded beam of 21 metres, a draught of eight metres, a displacement of 13,500 tonnes, berthing spaces and an onboard hospital for 155 crewmembers, and a fish hold with capacity for 5,620 metres. The onboard factory has a daily freezing capacity of 400 tonnes and is equipped for processing of fillet, minced surimi, and fishmeal.

Sea trials completed for new Russian crabber

Russian shipbuilder Krasnoye Sormovo has completed conducting sea trials of a new crab fishing vessel ordered by local operator the North-Western Fishing Consortium.

Vaigach is the first to be built under the five-strong Project KSP01 series designed for operation in the Barents Sea. The vessels will also have onboard factories, each with a rated processing output of 60 tonnes of king crab per day.

The vessel has a length of 61.9 metres, a beam of 15 metres, and a maximum draught of 6.4 metres. A 60-cubic metre tank will be used for storing live crab while the freezer hold will have capacity for 1,000 cubic metres.

Vaigach will be handed over to the North-Western Fishing Consortium in the coming weeks.

Chinese yards launch two new aquaculture tourism platforms

Chinese shipyards Xiamen Shipbuilding Industry and Funing Heavy Industry have floated out two new semi-submersible offshore fish farms that will also serve as deep-sea maritime tourism platforms

Mintou Xiuyu 1 and Mintou Xiapu 1 will be operated by local company Mintou Deep-Sea Aquaculture Equipment Leasing. These will be the second and third platforms in a series to be operated by the same company after the 2022-built Mintou Hongdong.

Design work on the 92- by 36-metre platforms was completed by the Guangzhou Institute of Energy Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in compliance to China Classification Society rules. The structures will be large and versatile enough to be used for a range of applications such as marine science, aquaculture, recreational diving, and even private dining and corporate events.

Click here for more news and gear stories, feature articles, and vessel reviews as part of this month’s focus on fishing and aquaculture.

Admiralty Shipyards, Argentina, Armon Shipyard, Barents Sea, China, China Classification Society, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Cooke Seafood USA, Erin Bruce II, FBW newbuild, FBW under construction, Funing Heavy Industry, Guangzhou Institute of Energy Research, Krasnoye Sormovo, Macduff Ship Design, Macduff Shipyards, Marine Engineering Bureau, Mekhanik Sizov, Mintou Hongdong, Mintou Xiapu 1, Mintou Xiuyu 1, North Sea, North Western Fishing Consortium, Norway, Project KSP01, Project ST192, Russia, Scotland, Skipsteknisk, Spain, United Kingdom, United Shipbuilding Corporation, USA, Vaigach, Wanchese Argentina, Wanchese Fish Company, Xiamen Shipbuilding Industry, Zenith