Dong Fang Hong 3, the world's largest silent research vessel built by China. (PHOTO: VCG)

By TANG Zhexiao

President Xi Jinping visited a research institute of the Ocean University of China in Hainan province on April 10 to learn about the development of marine science and technology. He encouraged the researchers and scientists to improve deep-sea science and technology and turn China into a maritime capacity.

China has 32,000 km of coastlines, 380,000 square kilometers of territorial seas, thus marine science and technology is a crucial aspect of national development.

Through the efforts of several generations, China's marine sci-tech industry has achieved a leap forward in development from almost zero to being a world leader, providing strong sci-tech support for understanding and managing the ocean.

Marine sci-tech development

Self -developed ocean equipment and technologies have helped China make the historic leap from offshore to ocean.

From the country's first independently developed polar icebreaker and scientific research vessel Xuelong 2, to new deep-sea manned submersible Fendouzhe, which holds the national record of diving to a depth of 10,909 meters, China's marine scientists have made a number of breakthroughs in core technologies.

Having obtained the highest underwater radiated noise level certificate from DNV GL, the world's largest classification society in Norway, the Dong Fang Hong 3 research vessel (DFH-3) was officially put into use in 2019. 

Wu Gang, chief designer of the vessel, said that when DFH-3 dives under water, fish 20 meters away do not even notice it. Compared with the initial estimate, the measured weight of the empty ship was reduced by 0.6 percent, showing that the key technology of weight and center-of-gravity control of empty vessels has been mastered.  

Accounting for about one-sixth of the country's coastlines, eastern Shandong province has been troubled with the problem of cold water fish farming in warmer waters. Aquaculture expert Dong Shuanglin, a 66-year-old professor at the Ocean University of China, started scientific research on the problem with his team in 2011.

Jointly designed with an ocean engineering equipment firm, they developed the sink and float mechanism, and launched home-grown Deep Blue No. 1, the world's biggest fully submersible intelligent fish farming equipment.

As a Big Mac at sea it has a volume of 50,000 cubic meters, which is equivalent to 40 standard swimming pools. Deployed in the Yellow Sea, its annual fish production has reached 1,500 tons, helping meet the country's growing appetite for seafood.

   Deep Blue No. 1 at the Yellow Sea, Shandong province, China. (PHOTO:VCG)

Strengthening marine ecological protection

China has long been calling for cherishing the ocean and building a maritime community with a shared future. Guided by this vision, the country has made efforts in marine ecology conservation and pollution treatment.

A total of 8,891 hectares of wetlands along the Bohai Sea（132 km of coastline） has been restored in a three-year campaign launched in 2018, according to the Ministry of Ecology and Environment(MEE).

The 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) published last year, marked the start of the Beautiful Bay project, pushing the ecological construction of all 1,467 of China's bays to be in line with the 2035 Beautiful China goal.

To promote the capability of the ocean's carbon sinks, the MEE has been urging local governments to accelerate ecological restoration, while organizing monitoring and evaluation.

Binhai New Area，Tianjin. （PHOTO: XINHUA）

Welcoming international marine cooperation

Ocean-based cooperation is deepening as well. The Friendship Port expansion project in Mauritania, which improved the handling capacity and alleviated cargo congestion and delays in the port, is the second largest project aided by the Chinese government in Africa and has been praised as "an example of South-South cooperation" by the international community.

At the 2021 Symposium on Global Maritime Cooperation and Ocean Governance, China called for staying committed to openness and inclusiveness and jointly deepen maritime cooperation.

According to the Five-Year Plan, China will seek extensive involvement in implementation of the global maritime governance mechanism and push for the building of a maritime community with a shared future,making efforts to develop "blue partnerships" and expand cooperation with coastal countries in scientific research and marine environment protection for the next five years.