CSSC building Chinese-designed aquaculture platform

China State Shipbuilding Corp (CSSC) Group, China’s leading shipbuilding firm, has signed a deal to build two platforms for a fishing company that combines aquaculture, tourism, and renewable energy, in what could turn out to be a template deal.

Yangjiang Heng Bang Fishery Industry Co. has signed an agreement with CSSC Group to build two (80-square-meter and 120-square-meter) platforms, to be moored off the Guangdong coast and driven by wave power. The project has been earmarked as a demonstration mariculture project by the Chinese Agriculture Ministry’s Guangdong provincial office.

Speaking at the unveiling of the design rendering of the platforms during the signing ceremony, Chen Wen, an inspection officer for the Agriculture Ministry’s regional office, said the project would lead to “high-quality, green aquaculture.”

Roofed with solar panels, the platforms have been designed by the Guangzhou Energy Research Bureau at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The design has been patented in the European Union and Japan with a view to sales there.

Cobia, grouper, and silver pomfret are the three species to be farmed by Heng Bang in submersible cages adjacent to the platforms. Yangjiang Hen Bang Fishery Industry General Manager Ge Yin Qi said at the signing ceremony the platform will draw tourists with “popular science demonstrations,” but would also feature angling, diving, and surfing. 

China has been keen to grow the leisure side of fishing alongside its huge tourism sector, the world’s largest. CSSC, meanwhile, has sought to dominate the global market for building mariculture platforms, drawing on its experience in supplying the oil and gas exploration facilities.

Photo courtesy of CCTV

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