Oman takes delivery of latest commercial fishing vessel

Fisheries Development Oman (FDO) – the fisheries sector investment arm of Oman Investment Authority (OIA) – took delivery on Friday, May 31, 2024, of a new commercial fishing vessel – the latest addition to a modern fleet that will impart strong new impetus to the growth of Oman’s fisheries sector.

ADAMAS, a state-of-the-art tuna purse seining vessel, was launched at the shipyard of Zamakona Yards in the Spanish city of Viego, at a ceremony attended by top officials of FDO. Notable attendees were Muneer Ali al Muneeri, Chairman of FDO’s Board of Directors, and Eng Nabil bin Salim al Bimani, Group CEO.

Announcing the formal delivery of the vessel, FDO said in a post: “Under the patronage of the Ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman to the Kingdom of Spain, and the participation of many officials in the Spanish city of Viejo and our shipbuilding partners, we launch ADAMAS today as an affirmation of our commitment to expanding responsible fishing by adopting the latest technologies and ensuring sustainability in the field of commercial fishing.”

The 84.7-metre-long ADAMAS is the second of two fishing vessels ordered by FDO from the same Zamakona shipyard to support its commercial fishing operations. The first – ACILA – was launched just under a year ago in August 2023. The two vessels will be operated by FDO subsidiary Al Wusta Fisheries Industries on behalf of Oman Pelagic, another wholly-owned affiliate of the group.

According to details shared by Zamakona Yards, ADAMAS, like the sister ship ACILA, has been designed and outfitted to operate in the challenging conditions of the Indian Ocean, where it will target mainly tuna for processing at the Group’s expanding fish processing facilities in Oman. Equipped with 1,800 m3 of storage capacity, the vessel can hold up to 10,000 tonnes of tuna at temperatures of around -20 degrees Centigrade.

With the eventual deployment of ADAMAS, FDO will have a total of five commercial fishing vessels in a wholly Omani-flagged fishing fleet. It includes the Jawharat Al Wusta, a 99.5m vessel with around 1600 tonnes of storage capacity; the FV Al Nima, another 94m long vessel equipped with 1500 tonnes of storage; and the FV Al Masara, a 95m long vessel with 1,150 tonnes of storage. All three vessels operate in the Exclusive Economic Zone of Oman, while the newer acquisitions, ACILA and ADAMAS, will operate in the Indian Ocean.