Construction begins on ninth trawler in series for Russia’s Norebo Group

United Shipbuilding Corporation’s (USC) Severnaya Verf shipyard recently held a keel-laying ceremony to mark the official start of construction of the ninth Project 170701 freezer trawler ordered by Russian seafood company Norebo Group.

The future Kapitan Portnov will have a length of 81.6 metres, a beam of 16 metres, a displacement of 5,500 tonnes, space for 80 crewmembers, and a 6,200kW main engine that will deliver speeds of up to 15.5 knots. It will also have ice class 2 notation, guaranteeing the ability to operate in ice up to 0.5 metres thick.

The fishing equipment will be optimised for bottom and pelagic trawling, while the builders expect the vessel can process up to 230 tonnes of fish per day and freeze up to 100 tonnes per day.

One notable feature of the trawler will be a device that can collect the fish oil that is a by-product of onboard processing activities. Some of the collected oil will then be used for firing the vessel’s boilers.

The future Kapitan Portnov will be operated primarily in the waters off Russia’s Far East.

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