noun
crab-canning boat; crab factory ship
A vessel equipped to catch crabs and process them into canned crab meat on board. The term is widely known from the proletarian novel 蟹工船 by Kobayashi Takiji.
蟹工船は北洋で操業していた。
The crab factory ship operated in the northern seas.
小林多喜二の『蟹工船
Kobayashi Takiji's 'Kanikōsen' is a representative work of proletarian literature.