Namibia’s ‘firstborn’ fishing vessel christened

NAMIBIA’S first brand new purpose-built fishing vessel, the ‘Oshiveli’ (which means ‘firstborn’ in Oshiwambo), was officially named by fisheries minister Bernhard Esau at Walvis Bay yesterday.

Oshiveli was built for Tunacor, to the tune of N$200 million, in Spain since October last year and arrived at Walvis Bay recently, way before its scheduled delivery early next year. It will “start working” as of the end of this month.

Tunacor Group chairperson Sidney Martin said the ship’s customised capability to catch three different species of fish (hake, horse mackerel and monk) with just a change of gear, made it a unique investment not only to Namibia’s fisheries, but also for the Southern African Development Community (Sadc).

“This is the first deep-sea trawler flagged and constructed for Namibian waters, and its technological ability is shown by it being moved by merely a joystick,” said Martin. “There is no other vessel with this capability in Namibia, and the ability to catch three different species.”

The vessel will have a crew of 56 and support 150 land-based personnel.

Esau applauded the initiative and acknowledged it was the first time a Namibian fishing company had built a vessel from scratch for Namibia’s rough Atlantic Ocean conditions.

He said the ability to catch three of Namibia’s most important fish species was a sign of cost-effective innovation.

“This is a testimony that rights holders cannot just own a vessel, but have vessels built too. Ownership of a fishing vessel is the single most important component to retain Namibian fish value locally,” he said.

He warned right holders who were given fishing rights, but did not own a share in a vessel, that “they cannot be serious partners”.

“The era of quota selling for making quick money is gone,” Esau said.

While commending companies for investing in infrastructure and technology, he urged them not to “just hand out fish” to fulfil their corporate social responsibility. They should also invest in building houses and in education, sport and health, he said.

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