Madar (Nouakchott) - Mauritania's new fisheries research vessel 'Masaki Nakamura' was floated out in Japan's Niigata prefecture on October 29, 2026, according to a statement by the Japanese embassy in Nouakchott reported on Tuesday by the independent Alakhbar agency.
According to the statement, the vessel is being built at the Tsuneishi Miho shipyard under a non-reimbursable Japanese financial cooperation project implemented by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) worth 2.927 billion yen (about $18.5 million), for the Mauritanian Institute of Oceanographic and Fisheries Research (IMROP), which reports to the ministry of fisheries and maritime and port infrastructure.
The ceremony was attended by Mauritania's ambassador to Japan, Mohamed El Rady Ahmedou, the Japanese expert Masaki Nakamura and a special adviser to the JICA president.
The Mauritanian government decided to name the ship after Nakamura in recognition of his contribution to the country's fishing sector while he worked there as an expert from 1978 to 1985, notably introducing and spreading a Japanese octopus fishing technique adapted to local conditions.
The embassy said the technique has become a pillar of the sector, providing about 40,000 jobs and billions of ouguiyas in revenue, with Mauritania supplying some 12,000 tonnes of octopus a year, about 40% of Japan's octopus imports.
The new ship will replace ageing research vessels. It has a gross tonnage of about 311 tonnes (480 tonnes under the international standard), is 43.5 metres long, has a 1,400-horsepower engine and is fitted with acoustic survey equipment, oceanographic instruments, sample processing and analysis facilities, and navigation and communication systems.
