Major Projects for Icelanders in Russia

The Icelandic companies Skaginn 3X and Frost hf. signed an agreement Wednesday with the Russian cooperative Lenin Kolkhoz to provide processing and freezing solutions and equipment for a fish processing plant in Petropavlovsk in Kamchatsky, scheduled to open at the beginning of 2020. The agreement was signed at the Icelandic embassy in Moscow, Morgunblaðið reports.

The plant will have the capability to sort fish by size, process and freeze Alaska pollock, wild salmon, Pacific cod, pelagic fish, squid, and more, and the capacity to freeze more than 500 tons of fish in 24 hours.

Sergey Borisovich Tarusov, CEO of Lenin Kolkhoz, believes that combining experience and traditions in fish processing from the eastern part of Russia with processing technology from Iceland will create a unique way to increase the utilization and value of the resource.

The agglomeration effect of the cooperation of Skaginn 3X and Frost hf. is crystallized in the company Knarr Rússland (Knarr Rus), which serves as a resale agent for Icelandic companies in the Russian market. Its staff understands the culture and language of both nations.

The Icelandic companies are also involved in the construction of a processing plant for the Russian fishing company Gidrostroy in Shikotan, which is one of the Kuril Islands. Twenty Icelanders are working on the construction of the plant, which is set to begin operations this winter.

The size of the two contracts has not been revealed, but it is likely to amount to a total of ISK 6-7 billion (USD 56-66 million, EUR 48-56 million). Twelve time zones separate Iceland and this easternmost part Russia. Shipping 90 containers of equipment from Iceland is estimated to take more than 70 days.

The two projects are in the easternmost part of Russia.