Live king crab brought from Murmansk to China for the first time

A unique logistics system for live crabs was developed by specialists from the Antey group. Within 5-7 days, the delicacies travel from Murmansk to Chinese cities: Shanghai and Beijing. Despite tough economic conditions and logistical difficulties, fishermen are developing new export opportunities for crab products.

Now is the season for fishing for king crab in the Barents Sea. As soon as the catch arrives in Murmansk, the crabs are sent to a special shelter to relieve stress and prepare for the road. For transportation to Moscow, special trucks equipped with a life support system for crabs are used, each carrying 4 tons of live crab. The total volume of transportation is 40 tons per week, and the journey from Murmansk to Moscow takes 30 hours.

According to Azamat Yusupov, vice-president for the development of new technologies and trade at the Antey Group, the supply chain of a live crab is very complex, costly, but thought out to the smallest detail. Each stage has been tested dozens of times to bring the highest quality live crab to the end consumer’s table.

“Air flight to the end consumer in China takes about 20 hours, today we sent 18 tons of live crab. Unfortunately, this is not the maximum possible volume. This year, we have been waiting for changes to the Fishing Rules for the Northern Fisheries Basin for a long time, so we started catching three weeks later. This hits our performance hard, but we try not to slow down, ”said Azamat Yusupov.

In the new economic conditions, the experience of the Antey group has become advanced: industrialists have mastered transportation by the Northern Sea Route, road, rail and air transport. The new supply chain has opened a direct corridor between Murmansk and the live crab buying countries.