Fishing vessels from Catalonia to Africa

Fishing vessels from Catalonia to Africa

With almost 65 years of history behind it and located in north-eastern Spain, Aresa Shipyard currently has a series of orders for Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo. These consist of 11 fishing vessels of different types currently under construction.

Adrián Amoedo

The Aresa Shipyard in Catalonia is currently constructing two major orders for eleven fishing vessels destined for two African countries, paving the way for its expansion in a continent for which it has already built various types of ships.

Based in Arenys de Mar, northeast of Barcelona, the yard has announced that it had been awarded two contracts. One is for four units of its Aresa 2500 S RWS model, destined for Angola, and another for a total of seven fishing boats for the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Aresa Shipyard’s 2500 S is a tried and tested design already supplied to customers and Spain and a number of African nations / El 2500 S de Aresa Shipyard es un diseño probado que ya se ha suministrado a clientes de España y varios países africanos

The first contract is a Deutsche Bank-financed operation to build and deliver the model, which is an evolution of the successful Aresa 2500 S, several units of which have already been delivered to other countries such as Algeria, Angola and Spain.

The revamped Aresa 2500 S RWS is designed for semi-industrial purse seine fishing and is 25 metres in length with a maximum beam of 6.3 metres. It incorporates a modern pump system and holds equipped with RSW technology to guarantee the cold chain from sea to port, with a capacity of 100m3 of chilled hold space.

One of the vessels for the Democratic Republic of Congo under construction at the yard in Arenys de Mar / Uno de los buques para la República Democrática del Congo en construcción en el astillero de Arenys de Mar

The specifications for this Aresa model state that it can be built in fibreglass-reinforced polyester (FRP), marine aluminium, steel or even using a combination of these materials.

As announced at the time, delivery of these four units is scheduled for this year and next. It also includes an after-sales service package that will be deployed at the final destination of the purse seiners, a strategy that Aresa has used to ensure the maintenance and performance of its vessels.

Aresa Shipyard is three 16-metre seagoing vessels to DRC / El astillero Aresa está construyendo tres barcos de 16 metros para la República Democrática del Congo

The contract signed with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) covers the construction of seven fishing vessels of different sizes, as well as the design and implementation of a comprehensive training and maintenance programme.

In this case, the vessels will operate on Lake Albert, Lake Tanganyika and the Congolese coastline of the Atlantic Ocean, in what the Congolese government defines as a significant step towards strengthening the local fishing industry and promoting a model of sustainable development in the region. According to sources in the DRC, there will be three 16-metre boats for the coast and four 12-metre boats for the inland waters, representing a ‘comprehensive programme’ designed to ‘modernise and revitalise the blue economy’ of the country.

The four 12-metre vessels are for DRC’s inland waters / Los cuatro buques de 12 metros están destinados a las aguas interiores de la República Democrática del Congo

‘These projects allow us to advance our commitment to industrial development in Africa and the transfer of technical knowledge in the maritime field,’ said the shipyard’s management, led by Oriol López.

Meanwhile, Aresa Shipyard is currently in the process of expanding its production capacity.

Four 25-metre purse seiners are being built to operate as RSW-equipped purse seiners in Angola / Se están construyendo cuatro cerqueros de 25 metros para operar como cerqueros equipados con RSW en Angola

According to the group, it will add a new covered hall with a total area of 1300m2 and a clearance height of 14 metres.

With this new facility, Aresa will have a total area of nearly 4000m2 at its disposal.

‘These improvements allow projects to be carried out in optimal humidity and temperature conditions, which translates into higher quality and efficiency,’ the company states.

The yard has already invested in new dock facilities in Arenys de Mar / El astillero ya ha invertido en nuevas instalaciones portuarias en Arenys de Mar

These new facilities join the renovated new dock officially launched three months ago and located just opposite the Arenys de Mar headquarters.

‘It’s a modern facility designed to meet the growing demands of the marine industry,’ the yard’s management states.