China converts cargo ship into giant fish farm as food security push gets creative

China converts cargo ship into giant fish farm as food security push gets creative
Carol Yangin Beijing 22 Jul 2025 https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3319136/china-convert...

China wants to build a ‘marine bread basket’ to shore up its food supply. Its latest idea: turning old vessels into mobile fish farms

A Chinese company has converted a giant cargo ship into a mobile fish farm as part of a project that aims to boost the nation’s food security by repurposing old vessels for use in aquaculture.

The ship, named the Zhe Dai Yu Yang 60001, is a hulking bulk carrier measuring 225 metres in length and 32.2 metres in width, which used to have a capacity of 80,000 deadweight tonnes.

But it will now be used to produce up to 2,800 tonnes of fish per year after its conversion by a subsidiary of the state-owned shipbuilding giant China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC).

“It is an innovative practice by CSSC to empower marine development with technology and strengthen the ‘marine bread basket’,” the company said in a press release on Monday.
China has launched a variety of creative projects in recent years to boost its aquaculture industry, as its vast population’s growing appetite for seafood puts pressure on local fish stocks and government food security strategies.
It is part of a broader goal to build a “marine bread basket” to strengthen the nation’s food supply, with Beijing prioritising self-sufficiency amid global climate change and rising geopolitical tensions.

CSSC has been leading a project to explore the reuse of old vessels for seawater-exchange aquaculture since 2017, with the works to refit the Zhe Dai Yu Yang 60001 reportedly taking around three months to complete.

The owner of the converted ship, Senhai Muge Zhejiang Marine Technology, said it was the company’s first aquaculture vessel refitted from an ageing carrier.

“This is our first vessel, and we plan to have another four within the next three years,” the company said. “It will start operations next month.”

The ship’s cargo hatches have been reconfigured into seven breeding chambers capable of holding a total of 80,000 cubic metres of seawater. Openings at the side and bottom of the hull allow the aquaculture system to connect with the open sea, according to a press release issued by the shipbuilder.

Capable of year-round operations, the vessel will farm fish in northern waters during the summer and move to warmer southern waters in the winter.

There are at least 1,500 old vessels in China and overseas that are suitable for conversion into mobile fish farms, according to CSSC. The vessel conversion scheme has the potential to create an industry worth around 100 billion yuan (US$14 billion), it said.

China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Natural Resources released a set of guidelines last year, pledging to promote marine farming while ensuring that the ocean environment is protected.

In the first quarter of this year, China’s total output of marine aquatic products increased by 4.5 per cent year on year, with marine aquaculture output rising by 5.7 per cent, according to data from the Ministry of Natural Resources.

The role of marine aquaculture in ensuring stable production and supply continues to become more evident, the ministry said.