Russian shipbuilder Krasnoye Sormovo has floated out the first in a new series of five crab catching vessels that will also be equipped with processing facilities.
Named Vaigach, the vessel and its four sisters under the Project KSP01 series will be delivered to local operator the North-Western Fishing Consortium upon completion.
The vessel will have 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 freezer hold will have capacity for 1,000 cubic metres.
The factory equipment will have a rated processing capacity of 60 tonnes of king crab per day while catching of crab can be done at depths of between 20 and 400 metres.