An official state flag-raising ceremony was held on May 5, 2026 in central St. Petersburg, near the Blagoveshchensky Bridge at the English Embankment Passenger Terminal, marking the commissioning of Kildin, the first series-built vessel of the KSP01 crab factory project. The vessel was constructed at Krasnoye Sormovo Shipyard for Karapaks LLC, a subsidiary of the North-West Fishery Consortium (NWFC). Kildin was launched in Nizhny Novgorod in April 2025 and subsequently completed three days of sea trials in the Baltic Sea.
The acceptance-delivery certificate between Krasnoye Sormovo and Karapaks was signed in December 2025. According to NWFC Deputy General Director Nikolai Nazarenko, Kildin is the company's third crab catcher and the first series-built vessel of the KSP01 project. The class's pioneer Zenit was built at a Turkish shipyard, while the lead vessel Vaigach was also delivered by Krasnoye Sormovo. Karapaks additionally operates three factory freezer trawlers built at Vyborg Shipyard (VSZ): Barentsovo More (2020), Norvezhskoye More (2021) and Beloye More (2023).
KSP01 project crab factories are designed for king crab fishing in the North Atlantic and Arctic seas at depths of 20 to 400 meters. The vessels feature on-board processing and vacuum packaging lines with a capacity of 60 tonnes of finished product per day. With 50 days of endurance and a fishing technology that allows finished product to be transferred without returning to port, Kildin embodies the continuous-availability standard targeted by Russia's modernizing fishing fleets.
From a supply chain standpoint, Kildin's entry into service is a meaningful capacity signal for the global seafood market. With king crab a high-value export commodity and Russian seafood exports up 19% year-on-year in Q1 2026, moving the KSP01 class into series production is strategically significant for both fleet renewal and extended-shelf-life export production. The progression of the program — beginning at a Turkish yard with Zenit and migrating to the domestic Krasnoye Sormovo line — also offers a clue about the repositioning of the shipbuilding supply chain.
Key Takeaways:
1. Kildin is the first series-built vessel of the KSP01 crab factory project, commissioned in St. Petersburg on 5 May 2026.
2. Built at Krasnoye Sormovo Shipyard for Karapaks LLC (NWFC); the acceptance-delivery certificate was signed in December 2025.
3. The vessel offers 60 tonnes/day finished-product capacity and 50 days of endurance, with on-board vacuum packaging lines.
4. The class pioneer Zenit was built at a Turkish yard; series production continues domestically at Krasnoye Sormovo.
5. With Russian seafood exports up 19% YoY in Q1 2026, the KSP01 series production line is a strategically significant capacity addition.
