F.T. Agro Food-1 is the largest fishing trawler in Bangladesh at present built by Western Fishers Shipyard Ltd (WFSL), a joint venture between Western Marine Shipyard & Fishers Shipyard. Western Marine Shipyard has provided the full technical know-how in this venture. The new built vessel has successfully completed its trial in the Bay of Bengal in the last week.
F.T. Agro Food-1is 42m Deep Sea Mid-Water Fishing Trawler, which is the first of its kind ever made in Bangladesh. This ship is the first from a series of three sister vessels WFSL has built for Agro Food Ltd. The other two sister vessels F.T. Agro Food-2 & F.T. Agro Food-4 will ready for trial by next month. Each of these fishing vessels is being built at a cost of BDT28cr. The design of these ships is from Iceland. These trawlers will be able to cope with the rough Bay of Bengal and capable of trawling into deeper sea. These ships are equipped with anti roll-tank, kaplan propeller, kort nozzle, bulbous bow, powerful engine & bollard pull, which made the vessels fit for fishing in the Bay of Bengal yet in monsoon period.
The trawlers will also be having hi-tech German made refrigeration system which can process the fish at -50deg core temp. The system includes processing deck, slurry ice machine, chill water maker, blast freezer and store freezer which will maintain the freshness and best quality of the fish caught. Each trawler has a carrying capacity of 300 tons of fish. They are powered with 1850 BHP engine, 800 KW generator power of & have a pulling capacity 26 ton. The main engine & gen-set of the ships are US made.
Most of the steel made fishing trawlers in the country are second hand imported from Thailand & China and they are not designed to cope with our fishing zone, the rough Bay of Bengal. But F.T. Agro Food -1, 2 & 4 would be the first trawlers of their kind duly designed to meet the fishing requirement in the desired zone of Bay of Bengal considering the sea state of this specific area, weather condition and many more.
WFSL mainly concentrates on new building of fishing trawlers. Western Fishers is the first shipyard in the country to have initiated new building of Mid Water Fishing Trawlers. Besides they are also building more nine fishing trawlers for local owners. This way WFSL has secured a share of 300 crore in the shipbuilding market of fishing trawlers.
