Russian Fishery Company regains MSC certification, begins construction of supertrawler

The Russian Fishery Company (RFC) has announced that the company has been reinstated on the list of Marine Stewardship Council-certified pollock catchers, allowing it to produce and sell MSC-certified products once more.

RFC was ousted from Russia’s MSC client group, the Pollock Catchers Association (PCA), in the wake of the company proposing radical changes to the country’s fishery policies. Soon after, RFC sought remedy in court and had its ouster from the PCA suspended before regaining its membership in the PCA through court action.

Now, the firm is back on official lists of companies that are allowed to sell MSC-certified products in the country.

“The RFC companies were reinstated in the MSC lists after the Arbitration Court of Primorsky Region ruled illegal the exclusion of RFC from the Pollock Catchers Association, which is the MSC group certificate owner,” RFC Corporate Communications Director Evgeniya Tsymbal said.

That news comes as the company announces that metal cutting has begun for the fifth supertrawler in a series of 10 vessels. The company received the first of its 10 planned vessels – the Vladimir Limanov – in early December.

The metal cutting is being performed at the Admiralty Shipyards, which is also constructing other vessels.  

“The Russian Fishery Company has already received the first supertrawler built outside the investment quotas program,” RFC Deputy General Director of Fleet Construction Dmitry Sapov said in a release. “A series is being built at the Admiralty shipyards using the experience of the first supertrawler construction, and soon – of its first operating experience. With each new vessel, we increase the pace of work and successfully progress in the project, together with shipbuilders overcoming all the difficulties without which such a large-scale construction is, of course, impossible.”

Each new vessel will be designed to catch 60,000 metric tons of fish annually, which according to RFC is twice as much as vessels making up the fleet today. The new vessels will also be equipped with modern “deep waste-free processing” so that the entire catch can be processed into higher-value products.

The total investment in the supertrawlers being built at Admiralty Shipyards is RUB 68 billion (USD 906 million, EUR 739 million).

Photo courtesy of the Russian Fishery Company