Cochin Shipyard to build 16 tuna vessels

Kochi-based Cochin Shipyard (CSL) has held a Hindu puja prayer ritual ceremony for the 16 long lining and gillnetting vessels it will construct for Tamil Nadu fishermen.

The 22-metre ships will be deployed for tuna fishing in the Palk Strait, which is located between India and Sri Lanka. They will replace the deep-sea trawlers operating in the area.

Each of the ships will be subsidised by US$89,000 under the Blue Revolution program delivered by the Indian national government and the Tamil Nadu state.

The Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT) will help Cochin to build the boats.