The industrialized version of the Sashimi fishing boat – a 13,8 m trimaran powered with sails and engines – was successfully launched in Sri Lankan waters last April 2012. After a period of tests in Sri Lanka, the trimaran will sail from Colombo to Puntland in Somalia in the frame of the project « Establishing a sustainable fishing industry in Puntland », for the benefit of local population of fishermen communities ».
This long term socio-economic development project involves several stakeholders including the fishery communities represented by fishing associations, fish traders, the local Government, a local financing institution and Nedsom Foundation.
The project is implemented in two phases. The first phase which is already implemented consists in the construction of a 700 m2 shipyard allowing the construction of fishing boats, the set-up of a strong network of fishing associations, capacity building training for a group of young Somalian in boat building activities and the order of a 13,8 m trimaran fishing boat with sails developed by the Building A Future Foundation and built by Ceynor Foundation in Sri Lanka.
The second phase that has to be implemented consists in strengthen the fishermen with new technologies, producing fishing boats, establishing a credit facility for the fishermen in cooperation with the fishing associations and a local financing institution and setting up a commercial company to distribute the fish products locally as well as in Yemen and Kenya.
The prototype of the Sashimi fishing boat designed by Jim Wilshire from Allseas Australia was developed in 2007 at the initiative of the Building A Future Foundation to allow high seas fishing with efficient inboard fish conservation and storage conditions, introduce the long line fishing technique for selective fishing, reduce fuel consumption by introducing sails as complement to the engine and therefore reduce CO2 emissions, improve stability with the three hulls and security with the presence of sails in case of engine break down.
The industrialized version of the trimaran Sashimi was built in Ceynor Foundation boatyard in Sri Lanka and was purchased by the Nedsom Foundation.
More information to come on the project.