Turkish-made arctic fishing vessel for Canada launched

By Sinan Balcikoca and Yavuz Emrah Sever

YALOVA, Turkey (AA) - An arctic fishing vessel produced by Turkey for Canada was launched in an Aegean shipyard on Tuesday.

The ship called "Calvert" was produced for Canada's fishing industry company Ocean Choise International by Tersan shipyard in the northwestern province of Yalova.

Attending the launching ceremony of the locally-produced vessel, Mustafa Varank, Turkey’s industry and technology minister, said the Calvert is also a floating factory which is suitable for all the fishing process from raw material to packaged product.

"Tersan has lead the way in many cases over the last ten years, such as LNG-engine cargo vessel, hybrid ferries, and passenger ships," Varank stressed.

"As the government, we support investments in the ship building industry due to its value-added production and employment," he said.

In the last seven years, the government provided incentive certificates for almost 330 vessel projects, 224 of them were completed, according to Varank.

Hailing Turkey as a land of opportunity in the ship building and shipping industry, as well as shipyard, he called for foreign investments.

*Writing by Gokhan Ergocun from Istanbul