“Pescapuerta, Armadora Pereira and Copemar are about to receive the new vessels to fish in Malvinas waters. They will be the largest, most modern and technologically advanced. Everything remains in-house, the three fishing companies are from Vigo and the boats are built by two Galician shipyards, Armón Vigo and Nodosa, from Marín. The international aspect is provided by the fishing ground and the joint ventures through which they will operate in the Malvina Islands together with local companies. They will be launched in the next campaign at the beginning of 2025”; this is detailed by the Galician newspaper Atlántico in an extensive note published today.
Specifically, the media indicates that the Nodosa shipyard will deliver the trawler and freezer vessel “Prion” to the shipowner Petrel Fishing Company - which operates in partnership with the Spanish group Pescapuerta - on Monday, September 30; one of the largest ships in the renewal of the South Atlantic fleet built in recent years. It is 85 meters long, 14 meters wide, and has a rapid ultra-freezing plant.
Among the special features of the “Prion”, its inverted bow stands out; a unique design that allows for better navigation in adverse weather conditions. It also has a tank to store biodegradable waste during hoisting and launching maneuvers of the rigging, an approved incinerator to avoid throwing garbage into the sea and state-of-the-art aviaries for the protection of seabirds.
Another freezer trawler with similar characteristics is the “ Argos Berbés”, which the Marín shipyard is building for Orion Fishing Company , a joint venture in which Pereira has a stake. Its delivery is scheduled for November 28. In this case, the ship's hull was also designed to optimize sea performance in adverse situations and reduce fuel consumption with an inverted bow design. This is the largest unit ordered by the Vigo shipowner, which a few years ago launched the “Argos Cíes” to replace the historic “Estai”.
For its part, the Armón Vigo shipyard is putting the finishing touches to the “Hadassa Bay”, another of the latest generation freezer vessels that will join the campaign to plunder Patagonian squid in the Malvinas next year. It will do so with the help of the Vigo fishing company Copemar , in association with the Kelper company Beauchêne Fishing, whose delivery ceremony is scheduled for October 23.
In this case, the “Hadassa Bay” is 75 metres long, 15 metres wide, has a gross tonnage of almost 2,500 tonnes and capacity for 70 crew members. It will replace the “Baffin Bay”, a fishing vessel that sank in 2020 in the port of Vigo.
The construction of fishing vessels is one of the fastest growing segments of the Galician naval sector at present. In the case of Nodosa, it is building another freezer trawler for a New Zealand shipowner, Armón and its subsidiary Ría de Vigo are building a fishing vessel for Argentina and a factory ship for an Icelandic shipowner . Meanwhile, the Freire shipyard is building a boat for a Canadian fishing company and its counterpart Cardama has a signed contract for a fishing vessel pending financing from the shipowner.
