Grupo Calvo has announced the renovation of its fleet with a new purse seine tuna fishing vessel equipped with onboard freezing technology. With a capacity of 1,500 m3, the ship will conduct its fishing operations under the Spanish flag. Construction of the new vessel was awarded to Galician shipyard Construcciones Navales P. Freire.
Building this vessel marks the beginning of an ambitious fleet renovation project which the company will carry out over the next few years in order to replace its oldest ships with more modern and efficient vessels. The aim of this initiative is to ensure the company’s capacity to supply quality raw material sustainably.
With a total length of 77 metres, gross tonnage totalling 1,973 GT and 3,392 kW of power, the new vessel is designed to meet the highest energy efficiency standards. Construction work will be carried out at the Construcciones Navales P. Freire facilities in Vigo and will take place over a 19-month period in order for the vessel to be operative at the end of 2020.
“Supplying tuna efficiently and responsibly is a critical aspect of our business. Having our own fleet enables us not only to ensure quality product supply, but also helps us to take an active role in assuring the sustainability of our raw material. Construction of this vessel in Galicia by a Galician company is also a way of demonstrating our commitment to the development of the economy and society of the region where Grupo Calvo was born over 75 years ago,” stated Mané Calvo, Chief Executive Officer
Grupo Calvo has its own 12-vessel fleet: two merchant vessels, three support ships and seven tuna fishing vessels. The incorporation of the new ship will not entail an increase in the Group’s fishing capacity, given that the decommission of a company vessel that was scrapped in 2017 will be utilized in accordance with applicable EU and national regulations, coupled with authorization by the competent authorities in the realm of fishing structures. The company will thereby uphold its commitment to self-limitation of its fleet capacity by refraining from adding new units without delisting a ship or ships of equivalent capacity.
APR Responsible Fishing Certification
With the aim of ensuring sustainability throughout the value chain, one of Grupo Calvo’s strategic pillars, once construction has been completed and operations have begun, the new vessel will be audited to obtain APR (Responsibly-Caught Tuna) certification, as occurs with the company’s other tuna fishing vessels. Assessment under this certification covers not only environmental aspects ensuring compliance with the highest standards in purse seine tuna fishing, which includes initiatives such as independent on-board observers on all company vessels, fleet tracking and monitoring via satellite, amongst others; but also encompasses oversight of fulfilment of workers’ labour, health and safety conditions, as prescribed by Convention 188 of the International Labour Organization (ILO).
Along these lines, Grupo Calvo has placed particular emphasis in designing the new vessel on both technical equipment and systems and its habitability in order to provide enhanced comfort and quality in working and living conditions for the 30 people who will make up the ship’s future crew.
