Udupi Cochin Shipyard Limited (UCSL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cochin Shipyard Limited, the Kerala Department of Fisheries, and five fishermen’s self-help group societies have signed a tripartite agreement for construction of 10 deep-sea tuna long liner-cum-gill net vessels. The order was valued at around ₹14 crore, said a communication here.
Fisheries Director Adeela Abdulla, UCSL CEO Harikumar A. A., and five fishermen belonging to the self-help groups signed the agreement at an event held at Cochin Shipyard on Thursday.
The vessels are designed as per standard design for deep sea fishing for Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana. The vessels will be equipped with advanced navigation and communication systems, including GPS, Automatic Identification System, distress alert transmitter, fish finder, and magnetic compass. The vessel is of 22.7-m length and 6.4-m breadth. The vessel can achieve a maximum speed of eight knots while it has a capacity to carry 12 persons.
The vessels will be equipped with fishing gear such as long liner winch and gillnet hauler. The vessels were built to provide safe and sturdy vessels in the water to enhance productivity, safety and livelihood of the fishermen community, according to the communication.