A state-of-the-art aquaculture vessel was delivered on Wednesday in Zhanjiang City in Guangdong Province, an economic powerhouse in south China. The high-end marine vessel, Zhanjiang Bay No.1, is set to inject new momentum into the country's aquaculture industry.

Zhanjiang Bay No.1 is a dynamically positioned, floating cage-type aquaculture vessel, the first of its kind in the world to integrate efficiency, mobility and intelligent operations.

Measuring 154 meters in length and 44 meters in width, it has a total aquaculture water volume of 80,000 cubic meters. With 12 independent zones, the vessel enables simultaneous multi-species breeding. Its annual aquaculture output is projected to range from 2,000 to 5,000 tonnes.

The vessel incorporates cutting-edge technologies such as those related to autonomous navigation, emergency typhoon avoidance and green energy self-sufficiency, according to its chief designer, Chen Xiao from the Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhanjiang). It is also fitted with an intelligent system covering feeding, net cleaning, monitoring and wireless data transmission.

Chen noted that the vessel cuts costs and improves mariculture quality in deep waters through natural water exchange. It is capable of low-power operations in waters with depths of over 100 meters, expanding the viable range for aquaculture activities.

Gui Jianfang, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, emphasized that the vessel is pioneering China's mariculture development by extending the industry's reach from shallow coastal waters to the deep sea.