Seining

Trawler/seiner Mercator delivered to French owners

Baird Maritime

A newbuild 22-metre trawler/seine netter has been delivered to French fishermen Sébastien and Guillaume Leprêtre.

Named Mercator, the vessel will replace a 1991-built trawler in its new owners' current fleet.

The hull was built by Manche Industrie Marine in Dieppe while the vessel was completed at the Stellendam facility of Dutch shipbuilder Padmos.

Mercator is designed to catch mackerel, herring, red mullet, squid, and cuttlefish using seine net, pelagic trawl, or demersal trawl depending on the season.

Scopale, a joint venture between fishing boat operator Scapêche and Boulogne-based fishing cooperative CME, facilitated the construction and delivery of the vessel.