VESSEL REVIEW | Kapitan Sokolov – First in new large trawler series for Russia’s Norebo Group

Russia's United Shipbuilding Corporation, through its Severnaya Verf facilities in Saint Petersburg, has completed construction on a new freezer trawler ordered by local seafood company the Norebo Group.

Kapitan Sokolov is the first of six Project 170701 freezer trawlers to be ordered by Norebo from Severnaya Verf. It has a steel hull, a length of 81.6 metres, a beam of 16 metres, a displacement of 5,500 tonnes, a hold capacity of nearly 1,500 tonnes of assorted fish products including fish meal and canned fish, and space for 80 crewmembers and fish processing personnel.

A 6,200kW main engine propels the vessel to speeds of up to 15.5 knots while Ice2 ice class notation will enable it to operate in surface ice of 0.5 metres thickness. The special capsule-like shape of the bow increases the working space on the vessel, improves seaworthiness, reduces the impact of waves, and helps minimise icing on the hull. This then significantly enhances crew comfort even under extreme weather conditions.

The vessel is equipped for both bottom and pelagic trawling while the onboard factory has a rated fish processing capacity of up to 150 tonnes per day and a freezing capacity of 100 tonnes per day. The fishing equipment includes 43 electric winches supplied by Naust Marine to help reduce emissions. Naust Marine also provided three telescopic jib cranes for load handling.

The crew have access to facilities that include single and double cabins, a galley, a mess, a laundry area, a gym, a sauna, a game room, an entertainment lounge, and a medical bay. Work on the accommodation spaces, which also feature heat-insulating panels and non-slip floors, was provided by interior designer Nautik Rus.

Kapitan Sokolov and its sisters will be operated by Norebo's Sakhalin Leasing Fleet to trawl for pollock and herring in the Far Eastern Fisheries Basin, which consists of the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea.

Some of our readers have expressed disquiet at our publication of reviews and articles describing new vessels from Russia. We at Baird Maritime can understand and sympathise with those views. However, despite the behaviour of the country's leaders, we believe that the maritime world needs to learn of the latest developments in vessel design and construction there.

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