VESSEL REVIEW | Gesheng No 1 – Intelligent fish harvesting platform to be deployed off China's Zhuhai province
Chinese shipbuilder COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry has handed over a new deep-sea aquaculture platform fitted with intelligent systems to the Zhuhai Marine Development Group (ZMDG). Gesheng No 1 (格盛1号) was designed by Zhuhai Gesheng Technology and the Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion and the Chinese Academy of Sciences to be capable of withstanding strong winds and currents, allowing fish farming to be carried out safely regardless of weather and sea conditions.
Self-sustaining platform with improved automated systems
The semi-submersible, truss-type platform has a length of 86 metres (280 feet), a beam of 32 metres (100 feet), a height of 16.5 metres (54.1 feet), a draught of 10.5 metres (34.4 feet), and a capacity of 30,000 cubic metres (1.1 million cubic feet).
The structure is also fitted with an 800-square-metre (9,000-square-foot) fishery operation platform, a 240-square-metre (2,600-square-foot) fishing platform, two fully rotating telescopic boom cranes, a sewage treatment system, a 140-cubic-metre (5,000-cubic-foot) cold storage area, a seawater desalination system with a daily output of 10 tonnes, and four berths to allow other vessels to be tied up alongside for personnel transfers and resupply.
Other key features include generators, feed storage and refrigeration equipment, feeding systems, underwater surveillance cameras, and environmental monitoring systems. A 5G wireless communication link allows for remote real-time monitoring of the platform and its operations, most of which will benefit from a high degree of automation for greater efficiency. Power for the structure is partly drawn from onboard PV panels.
The platform is presently deployed off the northern portion of Xiaozhuzhou Island in Guishan, Zhuhai, mainly to undertake breeding and production of high-value species such as yellowfin tuna, octopus, grouper, golden pomfret, and catfish. Feeding of the harvested fish will also be done with the aid of drones, which will be deployed via a dedicated onboard take-off and landing platform.
Design work on Gesheng No 1 was done in compliance with China Classification Society rules. It is one of five planned semi-submersible aquaculture platforms that ZMDG will deploy in the waters off Zhuhai as part of a broader fish harvesting campaign.
