• “Ponta Matirre” is the second of the seven new vessels that the Nueva Pescanova Group has built for their subsidiaries in Mozambique and Namibia for an aggregated investment of 42.5 million euros.
• The name of the vessel has been chosen by the very captains of the affiliate, and responds to a geographic al location at the heart of the Sofala bank, the wild shrimp fishing ground where the Nueva Pescanova Group operates in Mozambique.

Vigo, 21 January 2020.- The Nueva Pescanova Group has today bid farewell to the “Ponta Matirre” vessel in Vigo, the first of the four freezer vessels measuring 32 meters in length to be used for prawn fishing by their subsidiary Pescamar in Mozambique.

The ship, a modern freezer tanker with a capacity for 22 crew members, is part of the construction project of seven new ships with which the company is renewing its fishing fleet in Namibia and Mozambique. Its name, “Ponta Matirre”, was chosen by the captains of Group’s subsidiary themselves, and is a geographical location at the heart of the Sofala bank, the wild prawn fishing ground where the Nueva Pescanova Group operates in Mozambique.

In addition to the four freezers for Mozambique, the company will build three 50-meter-long wetfish trawlers that will be engaged in hake fishing in Namibia. The first of these, the “Lalandii 1”, has already been in operation with the affiliate NovaNam since last November.

All of them will be equipped with cutting-edge technology as well as highly efficient engines, equipment that will improve the on-board processing system, and the working and living conditions for the crew. With this milestone, the company strengthens its commitment, not only for the creation of local employment and economic and social development in all the countries in which it operates, but also for the sustainability and conservation of the environment through cutting-edge vessels that reduce emissions and incorporate state-of-the-art energy-efficient technologies.

To design it, a pioneering tool in the sector was used – virtual reality. The previous visualization of the vessel has allowed for constant improvement in each step of the construction process, thus favoring efficiency in the design and improvement of the vessel.

The construction of the seven vessels is being carried out at the facilities of the Astilleros Armón shipyards in Vigo, and has an investment of 42.5 million euros, creating around 200 jobs in Galicia. This is the most important contract created in Spain by a company in the fishing sector.

Pioneering in freezer vessels in the 60’s

Innovation is a hallmark of the Nueva Pescanova Group around the world. Proof of this is that in the 60’s, the company launched a revolutionary technology that allowed, for the first time in history, for the creation of the first on-board freezer vessel in the world.

Freezer vessels marked a before and after in the fishing sector worldwide, as they made it possible to discover the best fishing grounds in the southern hemisphere and their evolution led to the world’s greatest development in the fishing industry.

TECHNICAL DATA SHEET OF THE PONTA MATIRRE SHIP:

Type: Freezer Trawler

Flag: Mozambique

Base Port: Beira (Mozambique)

Classification: Bureau Veritas

Total Length: 32.10 m

Capacity: 22 crew members

Power: 700 kw

Virtual reality: virtual reality was used as a tool to design the ship in the beginning and as a tool of constant improvement throughout construction.

Efficiency: the ship includes cutting-edge equipment and its electronic management allows for high performance, deducing consumption and emissions. Also, a balance was sought out between energy efficiency and good fisheries

Quality: It has a bycatch and waste separation area, a product cooling system, and a water and air washer. The machinery available for propulsion and ship equipment are top brands worldwide.

Safety: The deck machinery has been distributed in such a way as to speed up and improve the lifting and pulling maneuver by shortening times, reducing the exposure of deck workers and increasing safety.