The Galician group of the Spanish shipyard is most prominent in building different types of vessels, but in recent years, this group has specialized in fishing research vessels. Currently, there are six such deep-sea research vessels under construction between the Armón group and Freire Shipyard, which are to be delivered to France, the Netherlands, Iceland, Saudi Arabia, Northern Ireland, and the Azores.

Spanish shipyards have a history of delivering fishing boats, cargo ships, ferries, tugboats, patrol boats, oil tankers, etc., many of which had their golden periods, but those days are long gone. In some cases, competition from Asian countries (or present-day Turkey) is too fierce. However, there is a business opportunity in Spain for building fishing research vessels, especially for the standout Galician.

In the shipbuilding sector, the Armón group, Navales P. Freire (Freire Shipyard), and Gondán Shipyard have built and delivered several vessels. The shipyards in Vigo have constructed dozens of such vessels, and with the replacement of aging deep-sea research vessels, the shipbuilding industry in Vigo is experiencing a sort of golden period.

Odón de Buen was built for the Spanish marine research institution IEO, setting a new standard for fishing research vessels.

A milestone in this type of hull construction is Odón de Buen, commissioned by the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) and operated by the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO).

This 85-meter-long vessel is named after IEO founder Odón de Buen y del Cos and represents the flagship vessel that Galicia can produce in this complex business opportunity in the deep-sea sector.

Freire is building a new Dutch research vessel.

This vessel was recently delivered by Armón Vigo, which, along with Freire Shipyard, is one of the two shipyards that have built the most such vessels. They have nearly 30 vessels that have been delivered or are under construction between them. They currently have 6 such vessels under construction.

In the last week of October, the most special vessel was launched—the world's first deep-sea fishing vessel powered by methanol. The 80-meter-long Anna Weber-van Bosse was commissioned by the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ).

Armón Vigo is building a 46-meter-long research vessel for the Azores.

Its delivery marks a new starting point for fishing research vessels with its technical standards and innovation-driven design. It is prepared with two ABC twin engines for the storage, transfer, and loading of such fuels (diesel or methanol). This is also a victory for Armón, having snatched this order from under the nose of the Dutch company Damen in a public tender.

Anna Weber-van Bosse was launched on October 30, joining another vessel built by Armón Vigo in the outfitting stage, Thórunn Thórðardóttir, which is 70 meters long and designed by Skipasýn. This vessel was launched earlier this year and is expected to be delivered to the Icelandic Institute of Marine and Freshwater Research by the end of this year to replace the aging Bjarni Sæmundsson.

Thórunn Thórðardóttir is expected to be delivered to Iceland by the end of this year.

The activities do not stop there. Armón Vigo also has two other small research vessels at different stages of construction, one of which is a 46-meter-long vessel belonging to the Azores Autonomous Region. Among the standard equipment for such vessels, an electronic acoustic system will be installed, capable of operating at depths of at least 5000 meters.

In November, the Agriculture, Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) of Northern Ireland commissioned the construction of a 52-meter-long vessel designed by Skipsteknisk to replace the 35-year-old Corystes.

Thuwall II will be built for King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (Kaust) in Saudi Arabia.

Armón has delivered or is building a total of 15 deep-sea fishing vessels. Freire currently has 13. It has two factories, one for Ifremer in France and the other for King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (Kaust) in Saudi Arabia.

Odón de Buen was built for the Spanish marine research institution IEO, setting a new standard for fishing research vessels.

The most advanced is Ifremer's Anita Conti, which is 40.30 meters long and designed for fishing operations on the continental shelf, accommodating 22 crew members. Freire is building the second 50-meter-long vessel for Saudi Arabia, Thuwal II, designed by Glosten, with an expected lifespan of 30 years. According to Kaust, it will be delivered in 2026 and will become the "flagship of the Saudi research fleet." It shares many similarities with the recently delivered David Packard, built by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (Mbari).

These two Galician shipyards continue to seek more orders. The Freire brothers' shipyard is involved in the design of a "zero-emission" deep-sea vessel for the Canadian organization Oceans North, and they were recently selected as the sole candidate to build two fishing research vessels in Indonesia, one for nearshore and the other for deep-sea.

In addition, both companies are competing to build a new vessel, Dana V, for the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). The announcement will be made in the coming years, during which both shipyards will add a new deep-sea research vessel to their performance records.