In waters north of Yuanyao fishery port in east China's Weihai City, a recent round of drone marine testings by a local marine equipment institute pooled firsthand data for references to its product R&D.
Such testings that move corporate "laboratories" into the sea are increasingly favored by businesses in Weihai as seven marine testing platforms have been completed in the port area, also the Yuanyao shallow sea sci-tech bay area.
In details, the seven platforms include an offshore self-elevating wharf, a semi-submersible platform, a testing wharf, etc., all of which provide vital support to the technological R&D of related businesses.
Currently, 44 companies have been attracted to settle in the sci-tech bay area, which serves as a key carrier for emerging marine-related industries such as marine electronic information, marine intelligent equipment, and modern maritime services to thrive there.
Near the Yuanyao fishery port now stands the semi-submersible marine test platform, which is the first one of the type in Shandong Province where Weihai sits and also a core part of the national marine comprehensive test site project in Weihai.
As a staff of the sci-tech bay area's service center introduced, the 44-meter-long and 32.4-meter-wide platform can operate at a maximum water depth of 70 meters and is equipped with multiple supporting systems.
For instance, the power system, test facilities, marine environment observing and monitoring system, and security system of the platform are capable of catering to diverse needs of scientific researchers including short-term on-site operations, instrument lifting and retrieval, and real-time transmission of offshore data.
Apart from these marine testing platforms, the sci-tech bay area is also crafting another seven scientific research platforms to offer all-around intellectual support for the national marine comprehensive test site in Weihai.
While marine testings are ongoing on the testing platforms, onshore zones in the sci-tech bay area are busy with building more innovative infrastructure including the marine data management and application center.
In Weihai, the integrated deployment of offshore, onshore and on-island marine-related platforms is unlocking strong potential for local industries to burgeon.
(Edited by Duan Jing with Xinhua Silk Road, duanjing@xinhua.org)
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