VESSEL REVIEW | Dmitry Konoplev – Newbuild vivier crabber trio for Russian Far East fishing company

Russian fishing company the Antey Group will soon take delivery of three new crab boats in a series built by local company Nakhodka Ship Repair Yard (NSRY).

Sister vessels Kapitan, Dmitry Konoplev, and Kapitan Khazan are the first three of a planned series of eight vivier crab vessels built by NSRY and designed by the Damen Shipyards Group's Damen Engineering Saint Petersburg division for operation by various owners in the Okhotsk, Barents, and Bering Seas. Antey said the acquisition of these new crab boats – which are among the first new crab boats to be built in Russia's Far East in over 30 years – is in line with the goal of modernising the country's fishing fleet while providing comfortable at-sea living and working conditions for crews.

Each of the new boats has a length of 57.7 metres, a beam of 12.6 metres, a gross tonnage of 1,000, an Ice Class 2 steel hull that will enable operation in surface ice up to 50 centimetres thick, and a total RSW tank capacity of 680 cubic metres distributed across nine tubs. The tubs can accommodate up to 120 tonnes of live catch in seawater of varying temperatures.

The propulsion setup on each vessel consists of a diesel engine that produces 1,620 kW at 750 rpm driving a Schottel SCP 774 controllable-pitch propeller. This arrangement will propel each boat to a free running speed of approximately 12 knots and deliver a maximum endurance of 30 days.

Schottel also supplied each vessel with a 400kW tunnel-housed, controllable-pitch transverse thruster for added manoeuvrability. Both the main and manoeuvring propellers are strengthened to ensure their durability under harsh weather conditions in the remote offshore areas where the vessels will operate.

Accommodations are available for 24 crewmembers on each vessel.

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