“The accounting department calculates wages in an unclear way, you constantly have to recalculate so as not to be deceived,” said one reviewer of the plant location on Yandex Maps in 2020.1 In 2021, a reviewer who worked on a fishing vessel owned by Preobrazhenskaya mentioned that his main motivation for working at sea was the salary, but it was impossible to earn much once he boarded the ship. He also said that the advertised high wages were “pure deception.”2
“Almost like being in prison,” another user wrote on the location on Yandex Maps in 2023.3
In Primorsky Krai, a fire broke out at the Preobrazhenskaya Trawl Fleet Base on February 10, 2023, around 12:00pm. The fire started in a storage area holding packaging materials and spread across 300 square yards. Rescuers reported receiving the call at 11:33am, with firefighters arriving within three minutes. No one was injured. The fire was classified as a second-level emergency. A preliminary investigation was launched under the supervision of the Lazovsky District Prosecutor’s Office.4
Aleksandr Kosarev (Factory ship): “The ship has been refitted—its factory was upgraded the year before last,” wrote one user who worked on the vessel in a February 2023 review. “The changing room is constantly flooded—water up to your knees. The toilets are always filthy, the passageways never get cleaned, and the cleaner doesn’t do her job. The electromechanic is stuck working on lines [sic], and the mechanics in the processing unit are hauling fishmeal together with the machine operator. They always load around 350 tons of fishmeal. Surimi goes up to about 1,200 tons. Roe, milt, and fillets—roughly 150 tons per batch. The stench in the workshop is intense, with powerful but infrequent cleanings, especially around the surimi line…”5 In the same month the review was published, a woman named Irina Alexandrovna Dotsenko appealed to the district court of Vladivostok for moral damage compensation following her husband’s death while working on the Alexander Kosarev, a company vessel.6 He died from rib fractures and traumatic liver rupture after he was hit with a metal basket during a transshipment.7 The court ordered the company to pay her more than $12,000. “They don’t pay,” said a June 9, 2025 message posted online by a user named Boatswain Stattam, in a response to a message from someone asking about the Alexander Kosarev. “And they treat people like slaves.”8
Bukhta Preobrazheniya (Factory ship): On July 27, 2023, Preobrazhenskaya Base of Trawling Fleet received an official warning from Kamchatka Territorial Department of the State Maritime Supervision for violating fire safety requirements, life-saving appliances, and the maintenance system and critical equipment on company’s vessel Bukhta Preobrazheniya. This action followed a monitoring assignment to ensure compliance with mandatory regulations using the state vessel control information system. Violations of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) were identified aboard the vessel Bukhta Preobrazheniya, according to the inspection report by the captain of the seaport of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The non-compliances related specifically to fire safety requirements, lifesaving equipment, as well as the design and equipment of the vessel. These issues are attributed to a non-functioning technical maintenance system for the ship and its critical equipment.9
General Troshev (Factory ship): In October 2021, a fire broke out on the General Troshev in the port of Busan.10 The fire occurred during gas welding operations, according to preliminary information.11 The trawler crew responded quickly to the threat and was able to extinguish the fire on their own.12 There were no injuries or casualties.13 “The food is disgusting,” wrote a former worker on the General Troshev in a Telegram chat on March 4, 2023. “Everything edible and fresh is only for ‘upstairs,’ the sailors get scraps and leftovers.”14 On February 17, 2025, a user named Roman said in an online message that he spoke with a former worker on the General Troshev. “He says, don’t even think about going as a sea mechanic. You’ll go deaf,” Roman said.15
Captain Demidyuk (Factory ship): In January, 2020 a man was evacuated from the Captain Demidyuk in the Sea of Okhotsk, at least 90 miles from the city of Magadan.16 The patient was lifted from the deck to the aircraft on a helicopter stretcher, and taken to Sokol Airport, and from there to the Magadan Regional Hospital for treatment.17
PJSC Preobrazhenskaya Base of Trawling Fleet did not respond to a request for comment.18
Kokand (Factory ship):
Kapitan Kolesnikov (Factory ship):
Ostrov Shikotan (Factory ship):