Katla Seafood was an Icelandic company. The logistics and shipowning sector in the Mid-Atlantic is facing an international corporate transaction. Atlantika Marine Logistics, the new name for Katla Seafood, based operationally at the Port of Las Palmas, has formally applied for the required administrative authorization to transfer all of its shares to the Omani company Rawanq Al Salam International. The application, submitted to the board of directors of the Las Palmas Port Authority for approval on October 8, concerns a change of control over a 6,012-square-metre public-domain concession located in Functional Area 9. The facility operates as a technical support, storage and provisioning terminal for international deep-sea fishing fleets.
Several years ago, in a joint transaction brokered by Spanish shipping agent Albino Moran, the vessels Drennec, Glenan and Trevigon were sold to Rawanq Al Salam. The three purse seiners were built by Piriou in 2006 and are 84 metres long, with a beam of 13.80 metres. Each has a 1,600-cubic-metre fish-hold capacity and a freezing capacity of 250 tonnes per day. The Drennec, Glenan and Trevigon, with a capacity of 1,600 cubic metres, were built by Piriou. Alongside the sale, an agreement was reached under which CFTO will continue to manage the three vessels, as well as others owned by Rawanq Al Salam. These include the modern purse seiners Adamas and Acila, built by Zamakona for the Omani operator and delivered over the past two years. CFTO’s management covers the process from fishing through to the sale of the products, ensuring operational continuity.
Operational strength and strategic alliance with the French fleet
Founded in 2021 in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman, Rawanq Al Salam International has consolidated its presence in the Indian Ocean and West African fishing grounds. The company operates a fleet of 13 vessels with a combined deadweight tonnage of 23,773 tonnes (DWT). Its large-pelagic division includes factory ships and trawlers such as the Al Rahma, Al Tidra, Al Asifa, Al Nasr, Al Baraka and Viking 1. The company expanded its harvesting capacity in the tuna segment through an operating agreement with French shipping company Compagnie Française du Thon Océanique (CFTO). The alliance led to the addition of the tuna purse seiners Hawwa, Layla and Nour, supported at sea by the Al Malah support and inspection vessel.
Executive structure and vertical integration of the value chain
Organized as a limited liability company, the corporation employs a global workforce of between 1,001 and 5,000 people. The executive team is led by chief executive Egill Árnason, alongside Muadh Khalfan Al Nadabi as director of operations and Katrín N. Jónsdóttir as head of commercial operations.
The group’s activities focus on the catching, onboard freezing and marketing of pelagic species—horse mackerel, mackerel and sardinella—and tuna species—skipjack, yellowfin and bigeye—under sustainability standards validated by the Friend of the Sea and Dolphin Safe certifications. Although its financial figures remain undisclosed in Oman’s Commercial Register, the acquisition of the asset in Gran Canaria confirms a vertical-control strategy. The integration of the 6,012-square-metre terminal will provide onshore logistical support for its vessels transiting the Atlantic and strengthen its distribution hub for the EU market.
The post Omani capital acquires Katla Seafood’s fishing business in the Canary Islands was first published on canarymaritime.com.
