Project 170701 trawlers – the nose also matters

The laying of the lead vessel from the Project 170701 series took place back in 2018. The customer was the Norebo group of companies (Murmansk), with which the Northern Shipyard entered into an agreement - the contract amount was 21 billion rubles. In total, it was planned to build first six and then ten freezer trawlers. Therefore, financial costs reach 38,4 billion rubles.


The design bureau Nautic from Iceland took part in the development of the ship. The island state has extensive experience in the construction of such ships. The prototype was the trawler Akurey, launched in Turkey a year earlier. At that time, a specialized Russian design bureau, Nautik Rus, was even created. It developed the necessary documentation.

Design features

In terms of general and basic technical parameters, the new vessel is not much different from its “colleagues”. But externally, the trawler immediately attracts attention. It's all about the unusual shape of the nose, which, like the cruiser Aurora, is extended forward at the bottom.


The capsule-shaped hull not only gives the trawler a futuristic look. This configuration increases the area inside the vessel and improves its seaworthiness: oncoming waves interfere less with movement.


The trawler is equipped with equipment to recover the energy generated by the winches. The heating system operates using heat from the main power plant. All this adds up to saving fuel. Technical characteristics of vessels of project 170701:

✅ displacement – ​​5 thousand 500 tons
✅ length, width - 81,6 and 16 m
✅ power of the main power unit – 6200 kW
✅ speed – up to 27,78 km/h (15 knots)

The trawler not only catches fish: there is an entire factory on board that allows for waste-free production. The products are frozen right on the ship and used to make canned goods and fishmeal. The factory is equipped with a palletizing system for finished products, which facilitates the work of staff.


The ships have an ice class of at least Ice2, which indicates the ability to overcome ice up to 55 cm thick. It is quite suitable for the North Atlantic. As for the productivity in terms of fish procurement, in terms of freezing it is 150 tons of product per day.

Lead ship

It is named after Vladimir Sokolov, the former head of the Murmansk port, who previously went to the ocean as the captain of a fishing vessel and made a great contribution to the development of the industry in the country. The trawler was laid down in 2018 and launched in 2020.


However, due to the imposed sanctions, the ship was only able to be fully “ready” in the fall of last year. In October, its tests were completed, which lasted a couple of weeks in the Baltic Sea.

The first serial trawler and others

It was launched in March 2021: it was completed while afloat. This is the end of the formation of the hull, the installation of processing equipment, etc. The name speaks of respect for sea captain Stanislav Geller, who began his career as a simple sailor.


Of the other ships in the project, the trawler “Captain Ostashkov,” laid down in the summer of 2021, was launched in September 2019. The following year, his next “colleague” also left the Northern Shipyard. The launch of "Captain Breichman" took place on May 25. A total of four ships out of the planned ten were built.


How the project will develop further is still unknown: the main engine was supplied by Finland. Obviously, a solution will be found in the Russian Federation or friendly countries.