In implementation of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi's directives to develop and modernize the Egyptian fleet of fishing vessels, Adm. Ossama Rabiee, Chairman and Managing Director of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA), witnessed the launching ceremony of two high-seas fishing vessels REZK 2 and REZK 3 at South Red Sea Shipyard (SRSS) in Safaga. The ceremony was attended by Mr. Mostafa El-Dougishy, Chairman of the South Red Sea Shipyard, and a number of its executives.
REZK 2 and REZK 3 are the first production of fishing vessels from "Misr Factory", and are part of a series of 12 high-seas fishing vessels of the class REZK being built successively for the SCA under the supervision of the Italian classification society RINA.
The dimensions of both vessels are identical; 50 m. in length, 10.5 m. in breadth, 4.2 m. in draft and a maximum speed of 12 knots.
Each vessel is equipped with 4 generators; 2 main 450 kW generators, one 100 kW emergency generator and one 450 kW mechanical generator to provide the vessel with electricity, in addition to its ability to power the propulsion system in case of the main generators' failure.
The vessels also have special features that fit the requirements of high-seas fishing, as the fishing line extends over 150 thousand meters, and the fish hold chambers designed to keep and freeze the fish to maintain its quality along its storage period are considerably large.
On his part, Adm. Rabiee stated that the new high-seas fishing vessel class REZK is the first of its kind in Egypt and is considered an unprecedented leap in the industry of fishing vessel building since this is Egypt's first time building a fishing vessel fit for high-seas and international waters fishing as per high-seas requirements and treaties.
Adm. Rabiee pointed out that the REZK class of high-seas fishing vessels comes as an integrated system for fish harvesting, processing, and packaging, utilizing state-of-the-art equipment and technology. This comes as part of ongoing efforts to modernize and upgrade the Egyptian fishing fleet, in line with the directives of the political leadership.
H.E. further pointed out that building high-seas fishing vessels by Egyptian hands marks a critical starting point for developing the shipbuilding industry and mega maritime units in Egypt. It will also allow for the acquisition of new expertise in building more complex vessels, in addition to achieving economic viability and generating foreign currency revenue from operating fishing vessels and marketing the capabilities of the Egyptian industry.
On his part, Mr. Mostafa El-Dougishy, Chairman of the South Red Sea Shipyard, affirmed that building high-seas fishing vessels represents a qualitative leap that would not have been possible without the support and directives of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to enhance the private sector's participation in efforts to localize the maritime industry and modernize the Egyptian fishing fleet.
He added that the partnership with the Suez Canal Authority has achieved successive milestones in advancing the maritime industry in record time. He noted that the shipyard has been working simultaneously on the building of four high-seas fishing vessels, and that after the launch of the fishing vessels REZK 2 and REZK 3, their sea trials are scheduled to be completed within two months.
Meanwhile, Eng. Shady El-Matbouly, Manager of RINA Egypt Office and representative of the Italian classification society, expressed his pride in the launch of the first two high-seas fishing vessels for the Egyptian fleet in full compliance with RINA requirements and international conventions governing deep-sea fishing vessels.
He highlighted that RINA has overseen all stages of the project, from design approval and stability calculations to the certification of equipment and machinery, as well as building supervision through its representatives in Egypt.
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