Giant squid vessel ready for maiden expedition
The newest squid-fishing vessel in the African Pioneer Group’s Port Elizabeth fleet will make its maiden voyage from the port this weekend.
The Esperanza – said to be the biggest vessel in the industry at 23.8 metres – will depart with 30 crew members on Friday or Saturday evening.
Tielman Nieuwoudt of Squid Co, part owner and operator of the vessel, said the crew was just waiting for permits to be finalised – expected in the next couple of days.
The permits would allow the crew to stay at sea for 21 days at a time.
Nieuwoudt said the motorised fishing vessel, which can carry about 60 tons of squid – roughly twice the average vessel’s capacity – was the biggest of its kind in the squid-fishing industry.
“The second-biggest is 22m long, and the smallest is 12m.”
The design of the boat, built by Tallie Marine in St Helena Bay and brought to Port Elizabeth earlier this week, was inspired by Nieuwoudt’s knowledge of other vessels.
“Part of the reason we decided to build a vessel of this size was to make it more comfortable for the crew – the living areas are much bigger than on other vessels of this nature.”
The name Esperanza is Portuguese, and means “high hopes or expectations” – which the crew and management have for its fishing volumes.
“In our peak season, November and December, the crew can return with about 40 tons of squid.”
The boat, valued at R15.5m, will bring in squid for blackowned Nozamile Fishing, part of the African Pioneer Group alongside Eyethu Fishing.
The squid will be processed by Nozamile and exported, predominantly to Spain and Italy.
The vessel, the fourth in Nozamile’s squid fleet, serves as a replacement for two smaller 16-man vessels taken out of the industry, with most of the crew coming from these two boats.
It will be operated under skipper Charles Williams, who has been working on Nieuwoudt’s vessels for five years.
“The Esperanza is totally different from the other vessels – from the equipment to the living quarters, to the vessel itself,” Williams said.
He said patience was the key to success as a skipper. “It takes commitment, compromise, integrity and patience.
“But [it all depends on] the weather; if we have a good fishing day, we’re happy.”
African Pioneer Group financial manager André Bosman welcomed the addition of the Esperanza.
“It will create extra employment, increase revenue and add to our pool of vessels,” he said.
Eyethu Fishing sales and marketing manager Amanda Davidson believed the Esperanza would give the company a competitive edge.
“It’s an extremely competitive industry, with 131 vessels operating in the Eastern Cape,” she said.
“There’s good money to be made, but because the vessel can bring in such large volumes on one trip – and because it has state-of-the-art equipment that can help it find squid better than other vessels – I think it gives us an edge.”