Vladivostok, December 18, 2020 – An official launching ceremony for the first Far Eastern crab fishing vessel “Okhotsk” was held today at Vostochnaya Verf Shipyard, the Governor and Primorsky Krai Gov’t press office said.
The boat’s namesake is Okhotsk, the first city in the Far East of Russia, and the vessel will be the first crab fishing boat to be built at the Far Eastern shipbuilding enterprises.
Sergei Kalitin, the Minister of Industry and Trade of the Primorsky Territory who attended the ceremony highlighted that the construction of the crab fishing boat is carried out within the framework of federal investment quotas and instructions of President Vladimir Putin on diversification of the military-industrial complex for the production of civilian products.
“It is important that the vessel is a civilian crab fishing vessel. This is the development of shipbuilding in the Primorsky Territory, the production of ships of a new class, the creation of new jobs, the exchange of experience between generations. It is the young people who will become the foundation of the new team of the largest shipbuilding enterprise Vostochnaya Verf,” the minister was quoted as saying.
Sergey Bakanev, interim CEO, Vostochnaya Verf Shipyard JSC, says the shipyard plans to complete the construction of the vessel in September 2021.
“In November last year, we were the first among other Far East based shipyards to lay a crab boat, and now we are the first who has launched the vessel that is so necessary for our fishing sector,” he added.
Vostochnaya Verf signed contracts for five crab boats of Projects 03141 and 03140. The lead vessel was laid down November 2019. Within the framework of the presidential program, it is planned to build 41 crab fishing vessels, of which 15 boats will be built in the Russian Far East region. Construction is on time and on budget with delivery of each boat in 2021 and 2022. Another pair delivery is scheduled for 2023. The fifth crab boat will be handed over to the customer in 2024.
The customer of four newbuilds is Sigma Marine Technologies Group: two crab boats for Sever OOO and Far East Coast OOO. Yet another vessel is being built for Voskhod OOO, a CPV resident. 
Oleg Kozhemyako, the Primorsky Krai Governor previously announced the need to return ship repair and shipbuilding contracts to Russian shipyards in the Primorsky Territory, that now have the necessary skills, capacities and enjoy preferential treatment.
Key particulars of crab boat: LOA: 63.27 m; Breadth: 10.6 m; Displacement: 1586 tonnes, live crab capacity: up to 100 tonnes. The vessels of this project, due to their modular design, have a high potential for adaptation to the extraction of other species of aquatic organisms. Most of the production process will not change, which will allow us to quickly build ships for any customer's needs according to an already worked out scheme
Vostochnaya Verf OJSC (former name Vladivostok Shipyard, Shipyard No.602) was created in 1952 to build ships for the USSR Pacific Fleet and Border Service of the Far East region. The enterprise was incorporated in 1994. In 1950-2000, the shipyard built over 400 vessels for the Navy, border services and fishing companies. Since January 2020, it is the sole contractor for projects of the Ministry of Defense in the Far East and a resident of the Free Port of Vladivostok (CPV). Vostochnaya Verf capabilities allow the shipyard to provide a complete scope of construction of ships with length of 120 m, breadth of 16 m, depth of 25 m and displacement of 3,500 tonnes.