New 'mobile marine ranch' vessel begins operation in Guangdong

A new aquaculture vessel was delivered for use on Wednesday in Zhanjiang, a coastal city in Guangdong province, to play a role in promoting the country's aquaculture industry development.

Zhanjiang Bay 1 is the world's first floating dynamically-positioned cage-type aquaculture vessel, representing Guangdong's largest aquaculture platform in terms of water volume, and taking the lead in intelligent operation.

Its innovative design incorporates numerous technological breakthroughs, according to a statement released by the vessel's owner, the Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhanjiang).

The vessel's integration design reduces costs, and its capability for open-sea aquaculture in all waters expands mariculture space, said the statement.

Zhanjiang Bay 1 has been acclaimed as a "mobile marine ranch". It is 154 meters long with a beam of 44 meters. Its aquaculture water volume is 80,000 cubic meters. It contains 12 independent farming zones for multi-species fish cultivation, achieving an annual production capacity ranging from 2,000 to 5,000 metric tons.