• The 32-metre long vessel, with a capacity for 22 crew members, features a cabin for students, as the Nueva Pescanova Group is reinforcing maritime-fishing training in Mozambique in collaboration with the Public-Private Partnership for Development (PPPD).

Vigo, 17th February 2021. Nueva Pescanova Group has held this afternoon, at its headquarters in Chapela (Pontevedra), the delivery ceremony of the vessel “Ponte Macalonga” and its blessing by the bishop of the Diocese of Tui-Vigo, Luis Quinteiro.

The “Ponta Macalonga” is a 32-metre long freezer beam trawler for shrimp fishing at Pescamar, its subsidiary in Mozambique. The vessel is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and energy-efficient engines. This provides the vessel with high performance, reduced consumption and emissions, as well as improvements in the on-board processing system and greater comfort for the crew.

The company has pioneered the use of virtual reality for the design of its new vessels in the fishing sector worldwide. Thanks to this tool, it has been possible to visualise the entire vessel in advance, thus achieving greater efficiency in its design.

The new vessels being built by the Nueva Pescanova Group for its subsidiaries in Namibia and Mozambique contribute to 10 of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially those related to responsible production and consumption, innovation, the promotion of economic growth and employment, and the conservation and sustainable use of oceans, seas and marine resources.

The new vessel, with capacity for 22 crew members, also features a cabin for students. In collaboration with the Public-Private Partnership for Development (APPD), Nueva Pescanova Group has launched a programme aimed at strengthening maritime and fishing training in Mozambique.

José María Benavent and Ignacio González, chairman and CEO of the Nueva Pescanova Group, respectively, took part in the delivery and blessing ceremony. In the next few days, the Ponta Macalonga will leave for the port of Beira, where it will begin this year’s Mozambique fishing campaign, which starts at the beginning of April.

TECHNICAL DATA SHEET OF THE PONTA MACALONGA SHIP:

Type: Freezer Trawler

Flag: Mozambique

Base Port: Beira (Mozambique)

Classification: Bureau Veritas

Total Length: 32.10 m

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.

Accommodation: capacity for 22 crew members (habitability conditions in compliance with ILO standards).