Chinese shipbuilder delivers world's first semi-submersible aquaculture support vessel

WUHAN - A China shipbuilding firm on Saturday delivered the world's first semi-submersible aquaculture support vessel to Norwegian fish farming company SalMar ASA.

The Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry Group Co Ltd of the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation delivered the vessel at its dock in Qingdao in east China's Shandong Province.

The vessel, 110 meters in diameter and 69 meters in total height, weighs 7,700 tonnes and can resist powerful typhoons of up to 36 meters per second in speed. It can accommodate water for farming 1.5 million fish while maintaining a death rate of less than 2 percent.

SalMar is one of the world's largest companies for producing and processing salmon.

Yan Jun, deputy chief engineer of Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry Group Co Ltd, said the vessel is the world's first fully automated aquaculture support vessel. Its smart aquaculture system can release fish fry and perform feeding, environmental monitoring, cleaning and removal of dead fish.

The ship maker signed a contract in April with SalMar to add another five of the smart aquaculture support vessels.