- A new milestone in the progressive renewal of the company’s fleet consisting of seven tuna fishing vessels, two merchant ships, and three support vessels.
- Noteworthy among the Monteraiola’s technical characteristics is its efficiency in fuel consumption.
- In line with Grupo Calvo’s commitment to sustainability, the new vessel does not entail an increase in fishing capacity.
- The ship will operate in Atlantic waters under the Spanish flag.
Grupo Calvo today celebrated the delivery of its new state-of-the-art fishing vessel, thereby marking a new milestone in the progressive renewal of the company’s fleet. Christened as the Monteraiola, the ship is a tuna freezer vessel that will operate under the flag of Spain in the Atlantic Ocean.
“The incorporation of this fishing vessel signifies an important step in the gradual fleet renovation plan in which Grupo Calvo is immersed. State-of-the-art vessels have a direct impact on improvements at the production and sustainability levels, and the Monteraiola empowers us to move forward in this direction. Our aim is to achieve substantial improvements in energy efficiency and gain in safety and comfort for our crews,” stated Macarena Ubis Lupion, Fleet Director at Grupo Calvo.
Built by Construcciones Navales Paulino Freire (Freire Shipyard) in Vigo, Spain, the new tuna fishing vessel has an overall length of 77 meters, a beam of 13.6 meters, and a gross tonnage of 1,976 GT. The ship’s load capacity totals 1,528 cubic meters and it has 3,392 kW of propulsion power. Efficiency stands out among its technical features as a key parameter of navigation and fishing operations. During the testing period, diesel fuel consumption for propulsion decreased by up to 25% with respect to the rest of Grupo Calvo’s fleet at the usual cruising speed.
Commitment to sustainable fisheries
In line with Grupo Calvo’s commitment to sustainability, the new ship does not entail an increase in fishing capacity. Operating under the Spanish flag, the Monteraiola will replace the operations carried out to date in Atlantic waters by the Montealegre tuna fishing vessel, and its capacity substitutes that of a tuna vessel that has already been scrapped. The company thus fulfills its commitment to self-limitation of capacity, without the new fishing vessel adding further pressure to tuna stocks.
The incorporation of the new ship thereby translates into maintaining a fleet composed of twelve ships operating in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans; and the Monteraiola will be one of seven tuna fishing vessels specialized in tropical tuna fishing using the purse seine technique. Like its predecessor and the rest of Grupo Calvo’s tuna fishing vessels, the new ship will be APR (Responsibly-Caught Tuna)-certified. This standard certifies that fleet operations are conducted in a socially and environmentally responsible manner.
Together with the seven fishing vessels, the fleet is complemented by two merchant reefer ships and three support vessels operating in the Atlantic Ocean.
