The vessel, named Guoxin-1, was delivered on Friday in China’s Eastern province of Shandong, realising a mobile fish farming model that is being described as a technological breakthrough for Beijing’s deep-sea aqauculture industry.
The vessel has a deadweight of 100,000 tonnes and displacement of 130,000 tonnes, ensuring it can survive challenging weather environments. With a length of 249.9 meters, the ship has 15 tanks. According to the team behind it, it can handle up to 3,700 tonnes of fish annually, including yellow croakers, groupers and Atlantic salmon.
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The deputy general manager of Qingdao Conson Development Group, Dong Shaoguang, told CGTN that the key technology on the vessel is the non-stop water exchange between the tanks and sea that makes the environment on the ship enclosed and controllable.
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Dong stated that the vessel’s breeding density is three to five times higher than traditional cages, with the aquaculture cycle being up to a quarter shorter. It will farm in the East China Sea, Yellow Sea and South China Sea, with the first batch of fish expected by the Autumn of 2022.
Two further vessels, Guoxin-2 and Guoxin-3, are due for delivery by March 2024. A fourth vessel, Guoxin-4, is set to begin construction in late 2023, with the delivery date not yet specified.
